Activists Outraged As NJ Senate Punts Vote On Temporary Worker Bill

NEW JERSEY — The New Jersey Senate has chosen to punt on fourth down – again – likely leaving the fate of the “Temporary Workers Bill of Rights” in limbo until at least December.

On Monday, Senate leaders pulled a proposed state law, A-1474/S-511, from their voting session in Trenton. It would beef up job protections measures for more than 127,000 temp workers employed in New Jersey, ensuring equal compensation with regular staff members, improving transparency and recordkeeping, eliminating “excessive” fees charged by temp agencies, and rolling out anti-retaliation measures, advocates say.

The bill has seen vocal criticism from business groups and the temp agency industry.

It was the second time in as many months that the Senate has postponed a final vote on the bill. A previous vote in October was also pulled when several senators withdrew their earlier support.

The proposed law has seen a rocky road since it was first laid at the feet of state lawmakers. After it got final approval from the Legislature in August, Gov. Phil Murphy conditionally vetoed the proposed law in September. But the governor also praised the bill’s overall goals and said he is open to a revised version of the legislation – which passed a vote in the state Assembly in October. Read More: Gov. Murphy Vetoes 'Temp Worker Bill Of Rights' In New Jersey

However, the bill has now stalled in the Senate, where it didn’t have enough votes to pass on Monday, according to Senate President Nicholas Scutari. At least two lawmakers weren’t present, including the bill’s co-sponsor, Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz.

The Senate recently changed its policy and is no longer allowing members with COVID-19 to vote remotely.

The chamber is scheduled to meet again for a voting session on Dec. 22.

The lack of a vote on Monday inspired an outcry from labor and immigrant advocates, who were apparently thrown out of the Senate chambers as they protested the decision. Some had harsh words for lawmakers, including Janeth Caicedo, whose brother – a temp worker – was killed while on the job in a warehouse in Kearny in 2019.

Caicedo said the vote delay is a “dishonor” to the “many lives we have lost due to negligence in the workplace.”

• See related article: NJ Temp Workers Say Tragic Car Crash Shows Urgent Need For Change

Other activists blasted the Senate’s inaction on the Temporary Workers Bill of Rights, promising that they don’t intent to let up the pressure until the proposed law hits the finish line.

“Not passing this bill is just saying that temp workers are disposable and that business interests are more important than our own humanity as workers,” said Reynalda Cruz, a former temp worker who is now an organizer with New Labor.

Critics of the proposed law – including the New Jersey Business and Industry Association (NJBIA) – have argued that it will be a huge drain on temp agencies – potentially impacting the number of available jobs – and could force businesses to move to other states due to the increased cost of doing business in the Garden State.

Alexis Bailey, NJBIA vice president of government affairs, blasted a provision of the bill that would require temporary workers to be paid both the average compensation rate and the cash equivalent of the average cost of benefits paid to their employee counterparts.

“The NJBIA maintains its concerns about a key and costly provision of this bill that will greatly jeopardize legitimate temp agencies, harm the third-party businesses that use them at a time of a great workforce challenges, and provide less opportunity for those seeking temporary employment,” Bailey said.

Other industry groups that have campaigned against the bill include the New Jersey Staffing Alliance, a trade association that advocates for temping firms.

“Recruiting, employment, and retention costs will all rise for staffing companies, which will then be passed along to our clients,” the group recently told Patch.

But activists argue that critics’ concerns are just a case of smoke and mirrors when it comes to the Temporary Workers Bill of Rights.

“Corporate and business lobbyists were able to paint a false narrative that convinced legislators that jobs would be lost if the Temp Workers Bill of Rights was finally passed to be signed into law,” said Yarrow Willman-Cole, the Workplace Justice program director with New Jersey Citizen Action.

“These jobs are not going anywhere and we must continue the fight to make the truth understood, New Jersey workers employed by temporary agencies are being exploited and mistreated and need proper protections,” Willman-Cole said.

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