Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Immigrant groups furious after bill protecting NJ temp workers' rights gets pulled
By
Karen Yi
Published Oct 19, 2022
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Alistair Berg via Getty Images
By
Karen Yi
Published Oct 19, 2022
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
New Jersey immigrant groups are voicing outrage after a bill to extend protections for temporary workers was pulled from a final vote on the state Senate floor.
“This time they have chosen to stand with multinational corporations and exploitative agencies over temp worker’s minimum basic rights,” Steven Mercado, a temp worker and organizer with Make the Road New Jersey, said in a statement.
The bill, backed by Democrats, was expected to narrowly pass along party lines after versions appeared before the Senate several times this year. An earlier version of the bill passed both legislative chambers this summer, then survived a revote in the Senate that was necessary due to a procedural error.
Gov. Phil Murphy had conditionally vetoed the measure, asking legislators to add a $1 million funding stream for enforcement and tightening the definition of temp workers. The Assembly concurred with the conditional veto and passed the updated bill this month. The Senate was expected to do the same on Monday, until it lost the support of two lawmakers.
“I had the votes at one point, and another point I didn’t,” Sen. Joe Cryan (D-Union) who sponsored the bill, said, pointing to a recent lobbying effort by temp agencies to derail the bill.
He said the agencies “funded a full lobbying effort and were able to put, in my view, their abusive business needs, above the protections that workers in this state deserve fundamentally.”
The American Staffing Association said in a statement that it and its affiliated New Jersey Staffing Alliance chapter "explained" to legislators that the bill would harm both temp agencies and workers. The group added it was exploring alternatives to the legislation.
The New Jersey Staffing Alliance has previously warned the bill would jeopardize jobs by discouraging companies from using temp workers due to the new state requirements. The group has objected in particular to a provision requiring temp workers to receive the same benefits and pay as equivalent employees. It says third-party companies don’t share information on benefits and wages for their permanent employees.
NJ.com reported Sen. Fred Madden (D-Gloucester) pulled his support citing a conflict of interest that had developed, but he didn’t say what. Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth) also told NJ.com that even though he’d voted for earlier iterations of the bill, he wanted to “do my due diligence” after a small temp agency in his district raised concerns about transparency and pricing. Another two Democrats who’d previously supported the bill weren’t present Monday.
Immigrant group members interrupted the voting session with protests, chanting and demanding the bill move ahead. About 60 people were expelled from the session, according to the NJ.com report.
The bill would ban temp agencies from making unitemized paycheck deductions for costs such as meals or transportation to and from work sites, which would often lower a worker’s pay below minimum wage. It would also require temp agencies to tell their workers where they are going to work and how much they will get paid. Workers who are taken to job sites but are sent home without work would also have to be compensated for at least four hours of work.
Additionally, the bill would make clear that workers have to be transported in vehicles to work sites that meet capacity limits and have one seatbelt per person.
“We cannot wait any longer. We demand the New Jersey Senate to bring the Temp Workers’ Bill of Rights to the Senate floor for a final vote immediately,” Mercado said.
The next Senate session will take place Nov. 21.
Tagged
new jersey
Politics
Karen Yi
Karen Yi covers homelessness and poverty. She joined the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom in 2020. Before that, Karen covered Newark for the Star-Ledger and spent almost a decade working for newspapers in New Jersey and Florida. She grew up in Miami and has a dog named Cashew. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-589-1460.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Driver found with apparent gunshot wound on George Washington Bridge, officials say
The westbound upper level was closed Tuesday night as Port Authority police investigated the incident.
By
Charles Lane
Published Oct 20, 2026 at 8:54 p.m. ET
16 arrested in New York auto insurance fraud crackdown involving nearly $500K
State officials say the cases include staged crashes and fraudulent medical claims, with seven arrests in the Bronx alone.
By
Giulia Heyward
News
16 arrested in New York auto insurance fraud crackdown involving nearly $500K
State officials say the cases include staged crashes and fraudulent medical claims, with seven arrests in the Bronx alone.
By
Giulia Heyward
Coney Island's small, 1890s lighthouse may be landmarked by the city
By
Catalina Gonella
New renderings are out for Queens' Metropolitan Park casino
By
Willow Higgins
Inside Luigi Mangione's legal strategy before his federal guilty plea
By
Samantha Max
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .