On July 21, 2023, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development posted on its website proposed regulations to implement the New Jersey Temporary Workers Bill of Rights. Public comments on the proposal will be accepted until October 20, 2023.

The new regulations detail how a temporary worker’s hourly rate of pay is to be calculated, including when an employer pays a comparator on a salary basis, and how to determine when temporary workers and third-party client employees are performing similar work; clarify that workers’ years of service are not relevant to determine whether two jobs are substantially similar; and provide additional clarity regarding what is required for wage statements and payroll deductions, among other things.

While the new proposal is not yet binding on employers and temporary service firms, it provides some additional insight into many of the questions left unanswered by the current law. The link to the new proposed regulations can be found here.

This proposal is related to the ongoing litigation of New Jersey Staffing Alliance et al. v. Fais, case number 2:23-cv-02494, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. In that case, the New Jersey Staffing Alliance, the New Jersey Business & Industry Association and the American Staffing Association are trying to block the new law based, in part, on the fact that the law is too vague. The Attorney General argued in a letter filed Friday July 21, 2023, that while the regulations are not needed to survive the plaintiffs’ vagueness challenge, they effectively eliminate any concerns of ambiguity or arbitrary enforcement.

The Bottom Line

The proposed regulations address the provisions of the law that impose the most risk and liability on employers, which go into effect on August 5, 2023.