Governor signs legislation intended to strengthen protections for temp workers
Temp worker Brisa Chavez, outside her home in Cicero on Aug. 3, 2023, could benefit from new state legislation that will increase protections for temp workers in Illinois.Like many immigrants, the single mother has been able to find work through temp agencies because they require less paperwork and less schooling than being hired by a company directly, she said.“Unfortunately, we are also more at risk of suffering abuse in the workplace,” she said.
The amendments also make it harder for companies to use temp workers as strikebreakers, advocates say, and require staffing agencies to institute safety protections, such as additional training, for temp workers. In cleaning and grounds maintenance jobs, temp workers made around 90% of what directly hired employees did. And in food preparation and serving, temp workers made 106% of what directly hired workers made, though the report’s authors note that average wages in those sectors have a low baseline.
According to a 2021 report from Partners for Dignity & Rights on racial discrimination in the temp industry, 49% of Chicago-area temp workers were Latino and 36% were Black as of 2019.Though staffing agency industry groups remained officially neutral on the law, they told the Tribune they have concerns about how it will be enforced as they await guidance from the labor department.
“This is a lawsuit bill,” Shomon said. The Illinois association, like the national association, remained officially neutral on the bill.In a statement after the bill was signed, Shomon said the association still had “serious concerns” about implementing the law, particularly the equal pay provision.
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