Bill seeking temp worker safegaurds

House proposal would ensure equal pay, protections

Temporary workers would get paid the same as permanent workers for doing the same work under a bill Democrats introduced in the House on Thursday.

The bill, introduced by Reps. Joe Kennedy, Dmass., and Emanuel Cleaver II, D-MO., would also ensure temporary workers receive information that describes the work they are going to do, their hours, pay rate, and information about their worksite employers, at least two days before they begin work.

The bill would prohibit the use of forced arbitration, a legal maneuver that shields companies from lawsuits, as well as noncompete agreements, which often prevent workers from seeking permanent employment at the firms they work for, advocates say.

It would also ensure that staffing agencies paid sick leave for coronavirus cases or quarantines to employees, even if the agency has more than 500 employees.

“Temporary workers battled daily against discrimination, wage theft, workplace abuse, and predatory corporations,” Rep. Kennedy said in a statement. “But long before covid-19 shook our economy to its core, temp workers were intentionally carved out of policies meant to enshrine economic justice, which has left them vulnerable to the worst actors in our society.”

Critics, including the American Staffing Association, say the bill would reduce companies’ flexibility in the labor market and hurt job creation at a time when too many people are already unemployed.

“If enacted, the bill would the significantly impede the nascent economic recovery by imposing major new burdens on the staffing industry-an industry that has traditionally led the nation out of recession by offering employers the opportunity to test the waters with temporary and contract workers and subsequently offer them permanent employment,” the American Staffing Agency said in a statement.