New Jersey Considerably Expands Rights and Protections of Momentary Employees By way of the Lately Enacted Momentary Employees’ Invoice of Rights

On February 6, 2023, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed the Momentary Employees’ Invoice of Rights, considerably increasing the rights and protections afforded to the 127,000 short-term staff in New Jersey. The brand new regulation, which is able to largely take impact on August 5, 2023, although sure provisions already took impact on Could 7, 2023, units new necessities for “short-term assist service companies” that make use of “short-term laborers” in a “designated classification placement.”

Key Definitions

Beneath the Momentary Employees’ Invoice of Rights, a “short-term assist service agency” is outlined as “any particular person or entity who operates a enterprise which consists of using people instantly or not directly for the aim of assigning the employed people to help the agency’s clients within the dealing with of the shoppers’ short-term, extra or particular workloads, and who, along with the cost of wages or salaries to the employed people, pays federal social safety taxes and State and federal unemployment insurance coverage; carries staff’ compensation insurance coverage as required by State regulation; and sustains accountability for the actions of the employed people whereas they render providers to the agency’s clients.”

A “short-term laborer” means “an individual who contracts for employment in a delegated classification placement with a short lived assist service agency.”

Nevertheless, “designated classification placement” means an project of a short lived laborer to carry out work in sure occupational classes as designated by the Bureau of Statistics of the U.S. Division of Labor. Subsequently, the brand new regulation solely offers protections to short-term staff who’re assigned by a short lived assist service agency to carry out work in any of the next occupational classes:

• Different Protecting Service Employees (33-9000);
• Meals Preparation and Serving Associated Occupations (35-0000);
• Constructing and Grounds Cleansing and Upkeep Occupations (37-0000);
• Private Care and Service Occupations (39-0000);
• Building Laborers (47-2060);
• Helpers, Building Trades (47-30000);
• Set up, Upkeep, and Restore Occupations (49-0000);
• Manufacturing Occupations (51-0000);
• Transportation and Materials Transferring Occupations (53-0000); or
• Any successor classes because the Bureau of Labor Statistics might designate.

A “third-party shopper” is outlined as “any one who contracts with a short lived assist service agency for acquiring short-term laborers in a delegated classification placement.”

Provisions That Went Into Impact on Could 7, 2023

As famous above, sure provisions of the Momentary Employees’ Invoice of Rights went into impact on Could 7, 2023, together with (i) these mandating discover necessities on the time of dispatch to a third-party shopper, and (ii) the anti-retaliation provisions. The remainder of the regulation will go into impact on August 5, 2023.

Discover Necessities on the Time of Dispatch

Efficient Could 7, 2023, short-term assist service companies should present detailed wage notices to short-term staff on the time of dispatch. The notices have to be in English and within the language recognized by the short-term employee as their major language. The discover should embrace the next objects:

1. the identify of the short-term laborer;
2. the identify, handle, and phone variety of:
   • the short-term assist service agency, or the contact info of the agency’s agent facilitating the position;
   • its staff’ compensation service;
   • the worksite employer or third occasion shopper; and
   • the Division of Labor and Workforce Growth;
3. the identify and nature of the work to be carried out;
4. the wages provided;
5. the identify and handle of the assigned worksite of every short-term laborer;
6. the phrases of transportation provided to the short-term laborer, if relevant;
7. an outline of the place and whether or not it shall require any particular clothes, protecting tools, and coaching, and what coaching and clothes might be offered by the short-term assist service agency or the third occasion shopper; and any licenses and any prices charged to the worker for provides or coaching;
8. whether or not a meal or tools, or each, are offered, both by the short-term assist service agency or the third occasion shopper, and the price of the meal and tools, if any;
9. for multi-day assignments, the schedule;
10. the size of the project, if recognized; and
11. the quantity of sick depart to which short-term staff are entitled.

On April 24, 2023, the New Jersey Division of Labor and Workforce Growth issued a Discover Kind that short-term assist service companies should full and supply to staff on the time of dispatch.

Retaliation Prohibition, Rebuttable Presumption, and Reduction

The Momentary Employees’ Invoice of Rights additionally prohibits short-term assist service companies, their third-party shoppers, and their brokers from retaliating towards short-term laborers for exercising their rights below the regulation. A termination or disciplinary motion towards short-term staff inside 90 days of the particular person’s train of rights below the brand new regulation raises a rebuttable presumption of such motion having been completed in retaliation for the train of these rights. If a short lived employee efficiently alleges illegal retaliation, they might be entitled to the better of all authorized or equitable reduction as could also be applicable or liquidated damages equal to $20,000 per incident of retaliation, reinstatement, if applicable, and lawyer’s charges and prices.

Provisions Going Into Impact On August 5, 2023

State Certification

Momentary assist service companies are prohibited from making any designated classification placements except they obtain certification to take action from the Director of the Division of Shopper Affairs within the Division of Legislation and Public Security. A short lived assist service agency searching for certification should file a type together with proof of Employees’ Compensation insurance coverage protection, an employer account quantity for the cost of unemployment insurance coverage contributions and a price assessed by the director. Momentary assist service companies that make designated classification placements with out first acquiring a certification from the director are topic to a $5,000 penalty for every violation, and every day of operation with out the certification is a separate and distinct violation. The Division of Shopper Affairs within the Division of Legislation and Public Security will even create and preserve on its web site publicly accessible lists of licensed short-term assist service companies, in addition to these companies whose certification has been suspended or revoked.

Third-party shoppers should additionally confirm a short lived assist service agency’s standing with the director earlier than coming into right into a contract, and once more on March 1 and September 1 of every 12 months. Third-party shoppers who fail to adjust to this requirement are topic to civil penalties as much as $500 per offense. Every day throughout which a 3rd occasion shopper contracts with an individual working as a short lived assist service agency however not licensed as a short lived assist service agency constitutes a separate and distinct offense.

Wage Necessities

Beneath the brand new regulation, short-term laborers have to be paid at the least the identical common price of pay and common value of advantages, or the equal thereof, because the everlasting workers performing the identical or related work for the third-party shopper. Moreover, if a short lived laborer is contracted to work at a third-party shopper’s worksite in a delegated classification placement, however is just not being utilized by the third-party shopper, then the short-term assist service agency should pay the short-term employee a minimal of 4 hours of pay on the agreed upon price. If the short-term assist service agency contracts the short-term laborer to work at one other location throughout the identical shift, the agency should pay the short-term employee a minimal of two hours of pay on the agreed upon price of pay.

Along with the wage discover necessities that have to be offered on the time of dispatch, short-term assist service companies should additionally present short-term laborers with an in depth itemized assertion on their paycheck stub or on a type accepted by the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Growth on the time of cost of wages. The assertion should record:

1. the identify, handle, and phone variety of every third-party shopper at which the short-term laborer labored;
2. the variety of hours labored by the short-term laborer at every third-party shopper every day through the pay interval;
3. the speed of cost for every hour labored, together with any premium price or bonus;
4. the full pay interval earnings;
5. the quantity of every deduction created from the short-term laborer’s compensation made by the short-term assist service agency, and the aim for which every deduction was made;
6. the present most quantity of a placement price which the short-term assist service agency might cost to a third-party shopper to instantly rent the short-term laborer; and
7. any extra info required by the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Growth.

Furthermore, the brand new regulation prohibits sure wage deductions, together with for transportation, background checks, and for cashing paychecks. Whereas the prices of meals and tools could also be deducted, the deductions can’t scale back a short lived laborer’s pay under minimal wage.

Recordkeeping Necessities

Momentary assist service companies might be required to maintain data associated to every time they ship an individual to work as a short lived laborer in a delegated classification placement. The data have to be maintained for six years, and data described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (6), (7), and (8) have to be made accessible for the short-term employee’s evaluation and copying. The data that have to be saved embrace:

1. the contact info for the third-party shopper;
2. the contact info for every short-term laborer and the kind of work they carried out, the variety of hours labored, the hourly price of pay, and the date they had been despatched;
3. the identify and title of the person(s) on the third-party shopper who’re liable for the transaction;
4. particular {qualifications} or attributes of every short-term laborer;
5. copies of all contracts with and invoices for the third-party shopper;
6. copies of all employment notices offered to short-term laborers pursuant to the regulation;
7. the quantities of any deductions to be created from every short-term laborer’s compensation by the third-party shopper or the short-term assist service agency;
8. verification of the particular value of apparatus or meals charged to the short-term laborer; and
9. any extra info required by the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Growth.

Placement Charge and Prohibition on Everlasting Place Acceptance Restrictions

Momentary assist service companies might be prohibited from: (i) limiting the correct of a short lived laborer to simply accept a everlasting place with a third-party shopper; (ii) limiting the correct of a third-party shopper to supply employment to a short lived laborer; or (iii) limiting the correct of a short lived laborer to simply accept a everlasting place for another employment. Nevertheless, a short lived assist service agency might cost a placement price to a third-party shopper for using a short lived laborer throughout the limits prescribed by the brand new regulation.

Non-public Proper of Motion

The Momentary Employees’ Invoice of Rights offers a non-public proper of motion to aggrieved short-term laborers towards the short-term assist service agency and third-party shopper. Momentary laborers who’ve been subjected to a violation of the brand new regulation might carry a declare within the New Jersey Superior Court docket inside six years from the ultimate date of employment by the short-term assist service agency or the third occasion shopper or from the date of termination of the contract between the short-term assist service agency and the third-party shopper. Such an motion could also be introduced individually or in a category setting, and the short-term assist service agency and third-party shopper might be held collectively and severally chargeable for violations.

Subsequent Steps

Many open questions stay as laws haven’t been issued right now. Nevertheless, the New Jersey Division of Labor and Workforce Growth has created a web site to offer extra steering into this regulation. Within the meantime, short-term assist service companies and firms that use such companies ought to start implementing these new necessities and evaluation their associated contracts to make sure compliance with the Momentary Employees’ Invoice of Rights. We’ll proceed to observe any new developments, together with any laws and steering from the New Jersey Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Growth.