Sponsored by:
Senator HOLLY T. SCHEPISI
District 39 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Provides certain protections for employees of temporary help service firms.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning temporary help service firms and supplementing Title 34 of the Revised Statutes
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act:
“Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development.”
“Department” means the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
“Employee” means a person employed directly by a temporary help service firm to provide temporary or part-time employment services to a worksite employer or a person for whom a temporary help service firm procures or arranges temporary or part-time employment with a worksite employer. “Employee” includes persons under 18 years of age engaged in domestic service in the home of the employer or persons engaged in agricultural service.
“Employer” means an individual, company, corporation or partnership acting in the interest of an employer directly or indirectly.
“Employment” means a trade, occupation or branch of industry, any particular method or process used therein, and the service of any particular employer by an employee as defined in this section, which shall include, but not be limited to, private domestic service by persons under 18 years of age or service as a farm laborer, including all practices connected with agriculture, the tillage of the soil, the preparation and marketing of crops and the construction and maintenance of farm property and equipment, customarily performed by a farmer on a farm.
“Temporary help service firm” means any person who operates a business which consists of employing individuals directly or indirectly for the purpose of assigning the employed individuals to assist the firm's customers in the handling of the customers' temporary, excess or special work loads, and who, in addition to the payment of wages or salaries to the employed individuals, pays federal social security taxes and State and federal unemployment insurance; carries worker's compensation insurance as required by State law; and sustains responsibility for the actions of the employed individuals while they render services to the firm's customers. A temporary help service firm is required to comply with the provisions of P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.).
''Worksite employer'' means an individual, company, corporation or partnership with which a temporary help service firm contracts or otherwise agrees to furnish persons for temporary or part-time employment.
2. a. A temporary help service firm shall provide to each employee for new assignment or employment notice of the following:
(1) the name, address and telephone number of:
(a) the temporary help service firm, or the contact information of the temporary help service firm agent facilitating the placement;
(b) its workers compensation carrier;
(c) the worksite employer; and
(d) the department;
(2) a description of the position and whether it shall require any special clothing, equipment, training or licenses and any costs charged to the employee for supplies or training;
(3) the designated pay day, the hourly rate of pay and whether overtime pay may occur;
(4) the daily starting time and anticipated end time and, when known, the expected duration of employment;
(5) whether any meals shall be provided by the temporary help service firm or worksite employer and the charge, if any, to the employee; and
(6) details of the means of transportation to the worksite and any fees charged to the employee by the temporary help service firm or worksite employer for any transportation services.
b. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a temporary help service firm from directing an employee to employment by telephone; provided, that the telephone message shall disclose the information in this subsection. If a temporary help service firm directs an employee to employment by telephone, the information concerning the employee's assignment shall be confirmed in writing and sent to the employee, in a method designated by the employee, before the end of the first pay period; and any change to the initial terms of employment shall be immediately provided to the employee and the employee shall acknowledge the change in terms.
c. This section shall not apply to a professional employee, as defined in 29 U.S.C. s.152; or to employees who are secretaries or administrative assistants whose main or primary duties are described by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor as involving one or more of the following: drafting or revising correspondence, scheduling appointments, creating, organizing, and maintaining paper and electronic files, and providing information to callers or visitors.
3. a. No temporary help service firm or worksite employer shall charge or accept a fee from an employee for:
(1) the cost of registration of the temporary help service firm or the cost of procuring employment;
(2) any good or service unless under the terms of a written contract with an employee, which clearly states in a language that the employee understands, that the purchase is voluntary and which provides that the temporary help service firm will not gain a profit from any cost or fee charged to the employee;
(3) the provision of any of the following that exceed the actual cost per applicant or employee: bank card, debit card, payroll card, voucher, draft, money order or similar form of payment or wages, or any drug screen;
(4) a criminal record offender information request;
(5) transportation, except as provided in section 4 of this act; or
(6) any good or service the payment of which would cause the employee to earn less than the applicable minimum wage.
b. No temporary help service firm or worksite employer or a person acting directly or indirectly in either's interest shall deduct any costs or fees from the wages of an employee without the express written authorization of the employee. A temporary help service firm or worksite employer shall furnish to the employee a copy of the signed authorization in a language that the employee can understand.
4. a. If a temporary help service firm or worksite employer or a person acting directly or indirectly in either's interest offers transportation services that temporary or part-time workers may utilize, the temporary help service firm or worksite employer or a person acting directly or indirectly in either's interest is prohibited from charging more than the actual cost of each employee's transportation or 10 percent of the employee's daily wages, whichever is less. If a temporary help service firm or worksite employer or a person acting directly or indirectly in either's interest requires the use of transportation services, there shall be no charge or cost to the job applicant or employee. Any temporary help service firm that sends a job applicant or employee to a worksite employer to work where, in fact, no work exists, shall fully refund any reasonable costs of transportation expended by the job applicant or employee to the job applicant or employee within seven calendar days of the date the job applicant or employee was sent to the worksite.
b. This section shall not apply to a temporary help service firm that arranges for transportation for employees through an independent van pool operator that operates its vehicles pursuant to a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission authorizing the operation under R.S.48:4-3. Under this limited exception, the temporary help service firm and employee may utilize a payroll deduction to provide the pre-tax transit benefit under subsection a. of section 1 of P.L.1993, c108 (C.54A:6-23) only when the employee has voluntarily authorized the deduction in writing pursuant to N.J.A.C.12:55-2.2.
5. a. A temporary help service firm shall not:
(1) knowingly issue, distribute, circulate or provide any false, fraudulent or misleading information, representation, promise, notice or advertisement to any applicant or employee;
(2) use any name that has not been registered with the department in the advertisement of its services;
(3) assign or place an employee in employment by force or fraud, for illegal purposes, or where the employment is in violation of State or federal laws governing minimum wage, child labor, compulsory school attendance, required licensure or certification, or at any location that is on strike or lockout without notifying the employee of this fact; or
(4) refuse to return on demand any personal property belonging to an employee or any fee or cost that is charged or accepted by a temporary help service firm or worksite employer in excess of the amounts allowable under this section.
b. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations and all inspections and investigations necessary for the enforcement of this section.
c. Any penalty imposed pursuant to this section may be recovered with costs in a summary proceeding commenced by the commissioner pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). Any sum collected as a fine or penalty pursuant to this section shall be applied toward enforcement and administration costs of the Division of Workplace Standards in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
6. The commissioner may adopt regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to carry out the purposes of this act.
7. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month next following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill provides certain protections for employees of temporary help service firms. This bill requires temporary help service firms, or “temp agencies,” to provide notice of certain terms and working conditions to their employees. A temporary help service firm is permitted to provide the required notice over the phone and send a written confirmation of the notice to the employee.
Under the bill, a temporary help service firm or worksite employer is prohibited from charging or accepting a fee from an employee for:
(1) the cost of registration of the temporary help service firm or the cost of procuring employment;
(2) any good or service unless under the terms of a written contract with an employee, which clearly states in a language that the employee understands, that the purchase is voluntary and which provides that the temporary help service firm will not gain a profit from any cost or fee charged to the employee;
(3) the provision of any of the following that exceed the actual cost per applicant or employee: bank card, debit card, payroll card, voucher, draft, money order or similar form of payment or wages, or any drug screen;
(4) a criminal record offender information request;
(5) transportation, except as otherwise provided in the bill; or
(6) any good or service the payment of which would cause the employee to earn less than the applicable minimum wage.
The bill prohibits a temporary help service from:
(1) knowingly issuing, distributing, circulating or providing any false, fraudulent or misleading information, representation, promise, notice or advertisement to any applicant or employee;
(2) using any name that has not been registered with the department in the advertisement of its services;
(3) assigning or placing an employee in employment by force or fraud, for illegal purposes, or where the employment is in violation of State or federal laws governing minimum wage, child labor, compulsory school attendance, required licensure or certification, or at any location that is on strike or lockout without notifying the employee of this fact; or
(4) refusing to return on demand any personal property belonging to an employee or any fee or cost that is charged or accepted by a temporary help service firm or worksite employer in excess of the amounts allowable under the bill.