What You Should Know About the New Jersey Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights

Thousands of people are hired in New Jersey every year to work in warehousing, manufacturing, transportation and other fields — many by temp agencies who farm them out on a contract basis. Temp workers historically have been denied protections afforded to permanent employees, making them vulnerable to wage theft, unfair working arrangements and other abuses by the agencies that control their terms of employment. But a new law that takes effect in 2023 aims to put an end to this inequality.

The New Jersey Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights provides more rights for the estimated 127,000 temp workers in the state. Here are some of the key provisions:

• Equal wages — Temp and staffing agencies must pay workers a wage that is at least equal to the average wage of permanent employees who have similar job responsibilities. Temp workers cannot be paid less than minimum wage after deductions for meals and equipment.
• Transparency — Pay stubs must show both the worker’s wage and the amount the staffing agency charges the company for placement fees. This lets the worker see how much the company is paying the agency and compare that to the compensation the worker takes home.
• 48 hours’ notice — Companies must give temporary workers at least 48 hours’ notice if there is to be a change in the worker’s schedule, shift or location of assignments.
• Wage notice — Agencies must provide workers with written notice, in both English and the worker’s primary language, giving information about wages, job location, nature of work to be performed, whether meals and equipment are provided and other important details about the job.
• Transportation — Agencies cannot charge workers for costs of transportation to and from the job location.
• Freedom to leave — Agencies cannot take steps to stop a temp worker from leaving their temp job to take a permanent job offer elsewhere.
• Retaliation — Staffing agencies and employers cannot retaliate against workers for exercising their rights under the new law. If a worker is terminated or otherwise disciplined within 90 days of exercising their rights, there is a rebuttable presumption that retaliation has occurred.
• Retaliation relief — If a worker prevails in court on a retaliation claim, they are entitled to recover compensation of no less than $20,000 per incident, plus attorneys’ fees.

Most of the law goes into effect on August 5, 2023, but the provisions on notice and retaliation became effective on May 7. As a law firm that has represented employees in New Jersey for decades, we look forward to helping temporary workers exercise their rights under the new law.

If you are a temp worker in New Jersey and are concerned that your rights are not being protected, the lawyers of Deutsch Atkins & Kleinfeldt, P.C. Hackensack are here to help. Call us at 551-245-8894 or contact us online for a consultation.