On June 29, a last-minute procedural issue prevented the New Jersey legislature from passing A 1474/S 511, an onerous bill that would make it much more difficult for staffing agencies to do business in the state. Further action on the legislation is likely to take place next month.
Earlier this year, leadership of the New Jersey Staffing Alliance, an ASA-affiliated chapter—as well as ASA staff—met with the sponsors of the legislation to discuss amendments crucial to the staffing industry. After several conversations, an amended version of the bill was published. The amended bill was marginally better, but many industry suggestions were not included.
On June 30, NJSA and ASA officials met with Sen. Cryan, primary sponsor of S 511, and urged the legislature to adopt the staffing industry’s amendments. They particularly noted that, at a minimum, four are critical for the industry:
- Exempting employment of a professional or administrative nature
- Eliminating the requirement that staffing agencies pay temporary staff the same pay and benefits as clients pay their staff
- Removing the bill’s limitation on conversion fees
- Not allowing every temporary employee to set their pay frequency (weekly, biweekly, etc.)
A follow-up meeting with the senator and industry representatives will be scheduled for later this month.
Next Steps
The New Jersey Senate is scheduled to come back into session at the end of July to consider nominees to the state’s Supreme Court as well as other legislative issues. It is widely anticipated that the senate will take up A 1474/S 511 at that time.
If the bill is passed as written, the governor has said he will issue a conditional veto through which he will amend the bill and send it back to the legislature for consideration. Therefore, in addition to urging the legislature to adopt the industry’s amendments, NJSA and ASA are working with the governor’s office.
ASA will continue to keep members updated on this important situation as developments unfold.
The post Procedural Hurdle Delays Passage of New Jersey Staffing Legislation appeared first on American Staffing Association.