New Jersey Attorney Discusses the Temporary Laborers' Bill of Rights, A.B. 1474/S. 511 and What It Means for Employers

In an interview with Law360, Sarah Wieselthier discusses the Temporary Laborers' Bill of Rights, A.B. 1474/S. 511, and what it means for employers. The new law requires temporary workers to be paid the same average rate of pay as a third-party employer pays its direct employees for similar positions. She explains that the law is upending the general understanding of the employment relationship in temporary staffing. "The company is going to be on the hook, or likely to be on the hook, for something that the temp agency does, even when traditionally, we may have been able to say, 'Wait a second, this is not our employee, this is not our responsibility.'"

Sarah also notes that the law may drive businesses to use temporary workers more sparingly, because the decision to use temporary work is often a financial one. “It won't make sense to hire a temporary worker if the pay rate has to be equivalent to a direct hire,” said Sarah.

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