The Bill deleted the section that allows employees to choose their own payroll payment cycle

According to reports, the New Jersey Staffing Alliance called on New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy to conditionally veto temp worker rights legislation in order to fix flaws in the legislation. The group argued the law, S. 511, could force closure of staffing firms and cause job losses for temporary workers.

On Tuesday, the alliance issued a press release calling for the governor to conditionally veto the bill. It said the conditional veto is the last opportunity to make changes to the bill.

The New Jersey Staffing Alliance released statement: “The Temp Workers Bill of Rights addresses numerous very important issues that will improve the work environment for temp workers, but it contains several problematic areas for which we have advocated changes and have been ignored. The bill in its current form could tip some staffing agencies, particularly smaller ones, to shut their doors, which could cause drastic reductions in the 500,000 temporary employees New Jersey staffing firms supply to every industry and job category in the state [and that generate] almost $6 billion dollars in the state’s economy.”

In August, the New Jersey Senate approved the bill, giving the governor 45 days to sign it, veto it or issue a conditional veto.

Four amendments to the bill were requested by the New Jersey Staffing Alliance:

1. Delete the section of the bill that requires temporary staffing firms to pay wages and equivalent benefits to their clients’ full-time workforce and makes clients liable for this. The alliance said the concern is clients will not be willing to share their proprietary compensation information and will instead no longer use staffing firms. Staffing firms would also be forced to adjust their own pay scales for categories of work by individual client if clients do share the information.
2. Delete the section that allows employees to choose their own payroll payment cycle.
3. Delete the section regulating hiring of temporary staff by clients and placement fees. It noted virtually every staffing contract provides a pathway for clients to hire temporary workers and pay a negotiated fee that rewards the staffing firm for finding the worker and assigning the worker.
4. Fix a discrepancy in the law between “temporary labor” and “temporary laborer.” It requested the two definitions be consolidated to ensure the segment limitations apply to the entire bill.