An estimated 127,000 temporary workers in New Jersey have new workplace rights that improve pay equity, increase oversight on temporary agencies and ensure workers’ dignity.
The new rules — the “Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights” — went into effect over the weekend.
The protections were the result of a months-long legislative battle that saw Gov. Phil Murphy seek changes to the original proposal. The state Senate struggled to pass the amended version. Business groups lined up in opposition. And supporters rallied in the halls of the state capitol, urging lawmakers to pass it.
Murphy ultimately signed the measure on Feb. 6, saying in a statement that the bill “establishes necessary guidelines for temporary help service firms and third-party clients to ensure that these workers are afforded basic protections and treated with the dignity they deserve.”
The use of temporary workers has exploded with the proliferation of warehouses and distribution centers across New Jersey, especially given the state's access to major ports and interstate corridors.
Labor unions and immigrants' rights groups backing the bill contend that agencies often funnel undocumented immigrants in New Jersey into unsafe working conditions. Advocates say temp staff members are sometimes kept on the same job site for years, becoming "perma-temps" even as they are paid less and shut out of typical benefits.
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