{"id":8569,"date":"2017-04-17T01:29:36","date_gmt":"2017-04-17T01:29:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/?p=8569"},"modified":"2021-12-21T22:45:13","modified_gmt":"2021-12-21T22:45:13","slug":"need-know-temporary-employee-in-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/need-know-temporary-employee-in-california\/","title":{"rendered":"What You Need to Know As a Temporary Employee in California"},"content":{"rendered":"

For businesses in California and throughout the nation, <\/span>temporary workers <\/span><\/a>translate into <\/span>cost savings<\/span><\/a>. \u00a0For one thing, those businesses don\u2019t have to pay temp workers medical or dental benefits, vacation and sick pay or contribute to their retirement plans. \u00a0In addition, employers who need workers with particular skill sets can hire skilled temporary workers, saving on training costs. \u00a0Finally, according to the <\/span>U.S. Department of Commerce<\/span><\/a>, \u201c<\/span>temp workers generally earn a lower hourly wage than their directly-hired counterparts in the same occupation<\/span><\/i>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s understandable that employers are focused on the bottom line, and it\u2019s reasonable that they would occasionally hire temp workers to save money. \u00a0All too often, however, employers game the system, skirting established law to exploit temporary workers and maximize cost savings. \u00a0Temp workers, typically happy just to bring home a paycheck, tend not to push back or complain. \u00a0<\/span>That\u2019s a mistake<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Microsoft\u2019s Big \u201cPermatemp\u201d Gamble<\/b><\/p>\n

In the late 80\u2019s and early 90\u2019s, <\/span>Microsoft<\/span><\/a> began hiring thousands of temporary workers. \u00a0The $20 billion tech giant was looking for a way to save money. \u00a0The new workers were required to wear orange badges to distinguish them from permanent workers (who wore blue badges).<\/span><\/p>\n

The arrangement worked out well for Microsoft, which retained many of these workers for years. \u00a0The trouble began when those \u201ctemp\u201d workers tried to take advantage of the company\u2019s employee discount stock purchase program. Microsoft said \u201cno,\u201d arguing that, as temp workers, they didn\u2019t qualify.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1992, the workers decided to fight back, filing a class-action lawsuit which argued that, given their length of time with the company, they were not in fact temporary workers and were therefore being denied benefits to which they were entitled. \u00a0The lawsuit wound its way through the courts for eight years. \u00a0At the end of the day, the workers won. \u00a0Microsoft paid a $97 million settlement, which amounted to an average settlement of $10,000 for each of the plaintiffs. <\/span><\/p>\n

What Is the Law Governing Temporary Employees?<\/b><\/p>\n

Most temporary workers are hired by staffing agencies, which then ferret those workers out to client companies. \u00a0Many of the legal issues which surround temporary workers have to do with this nebulous arrangement. \u00a0When violations of worker rights (such as discrimination) occur, for example, who is liable, the staffing agency or the client firm? \u00a0Are temporary workers \u201cemployees\u201d of those client firms, or \u201cindependent contractors\u201d who work for the staffing agency?<\/span><\/p>\n

Are Both Staffing Agencies and Client Companies Liable for Discrimination?<\/b><\/p>\n

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (<\/span>EEOC<\/span><\/a>), both staffing agencies and client firms can be sued for discrimination:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cStaffing firm workers are generally covered under the anti- discrimination statutes. \u00a0This is because they typically qualify as “employees” of the staffing firm, the client to whom they are assigned, or both. \u00a0\u00a0Thus, staffing firms <\/span><\/i>and the clients to whom they assign workers<\/i><\/b> may not discriminate against the workers on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability (emphasis added).\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Essentially, what this means is that client firms can\u2019t defend discriminatory actions with the argument that they are not the employer. \u00a0In the same way, if a client asks a staffing agency for \u201c<\/span>only white women in their 20’s<\/span><\/i>\u201d to fill sales positions during the holiday season and the agency complies, <\/span>both the agency and the client firm are liable<\/span><\/a> under anti-discrimination statutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Are Temporary Workers Employees of the Client Firm or Independent Contractors?<\/b><\/p>\n

Many of the abuses which temporary workers suffer are due to misclassification of their employment status. \u00a0Workers who are classified as employees of the client firm have rights which don\u2019t apply to independent contractors who work for the staffing agency.<\/span><\/p>\n

When a client firm <\/span>controls a worker\u2019s hours, wages or working conditions<\/span><\/a> (for example, telling him what his weekly work schedule is), that worker should be classified as an employee even if the staffing agency has classified him as an independent contractor. \u00a0As such, the worker is entitled to a number of employee rights, including legally-compliant meal and rest breaks and paid overtime. \u00a0When such misclassification occurs, employees can sue the client firm for back wages and penalties.<\/span><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/b><\/p>\n

The laws covering the rights of temporary workers change frequently. \u00a0For example, in 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a landmark new law, <\/span>AB 1897<\/span><\/a>, that holds corporations in the state accountable when workers hired using labor contractors are cheated out of wages or forced to work in unsafe conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n

All employees have rights, including temporary workers. \u00a0If you are a temporary worker and suspect your rights are being violated, you need to take action and seek competent legal assistance. \u00a0The <\/span>attorneys<\/span><\/a> at Aiman-Smith & Marcy have won millions in settlements on behalf of California employees. \u00a0They will work as team and in close collaboration with you to defend your rights. \u00a0If you need help because your employer is violating those rights, <\/span>contact us<\/span><\/a> today. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For businesses in California and throughout the nation, temporary workers translate into cost savings. \u00a0For one thing, those businesses don\u2019t have to pay temp workers medical or dental benefits, vacation and sick pay or contribute to their retirement plans. \u00a0In addition, employers who need workers with particular skill sets can hire skilled temporary workers, saving […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[22,27],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat You Need to Know As a Temporary Employee in California<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Employers often hire part-time or temporary workers to help with increased work demands that sometimes occur in certain industries.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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M"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/author\/carlos-m\/"}]}},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/What-You-Need-to-Know-As-a-Temporary-Employee-in-California.jpeg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/What-You-Need-to-Know-As-a-Temporary-Employee-in-California.jpeg","author_info":{"display_name":"Carlos M","author_link":"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/author\/carlos-m\/"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/category\/blog\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Blog<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/category\/employee-misclassification\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Employee Misclassification<\/a>","tags_info":"","social_share_info":"<a data-share=\"facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/need-know-temporary-employee-in-california\/\" class=\"pl-facebook-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-facebook-f\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><a data-share=\"twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/need-know-temporary-employee-in-california\/\" class=\"pl-twiiter-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><a data-share=\"linkedin\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/need-know-temporary-employee-in-california\/\" class=\"pl-linkedin-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-linkedin-in\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a>","wordExcerpt_info":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/What-You-Need-to-Know-As-a-Temporary-Employee-in-California.jpg\" \/>For businesses in California and throughout the nation, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">temporary workers <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">translate into <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/smallbusiness.chron.com\/major-advantages-using-temporary-employees-18844.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">cost savings<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u00a0For one thing, those businesses don\u2019t have to pay temp workers medical or dental benefits, vacation and sick pay or contribute to their retirement plans. \u00a0In addition, employers who need workers with particular skill sets can hire skilled temporary workers, saving on training costs. \u00a0Finally, according to the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.esa.doc.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/temporary-help-workers-in-the-us-labor-market.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">U.S. Department of Commerce<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">temp workers generally earn a lower hourly wage than their directly-hired counterparts in the same occupation<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It\u2019s understandable that employers are focused on the bottom line, and it\u2019s reasonable that they would occasionally hire temp workers to save money. \u00a0All too often, however, employers game the system, skirting established law to exploit temporary workers and maximize cost savings. \u00a0Temp workers, typically happy just to bring home a paycheck, tend not to push back or complain. \u00a0<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">That\u2019s a mistake<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Microsoft\u2019s Big \u201cPermatemp\u201d Gamble<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the late 80\u2019s and early 90\u2019s, <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2000\/12\/13\/business\/technology-temp-workers-at-microsoft-win-lawsuit.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Microsoft<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> began hiring thousands of temporary workers. \u00a0The $20 billion tech giant was looking for a way to save money. \u00a0The new workers were required to wear orange badges to distinguish them from permanent workers (who wore blue badges).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The arrangement worked out well for Microsoft, which retained many of these workers for years. \u00a0The trouble began when those \u201ctemp\u201d workers tried to take advantage of the company\u2019s employee discount stock purchase program. Microsoft said \u201cno,\u201d arguing that, as temp workers, they didn\u2019t qualify.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 1992, the workers decided to fight back, filing a class-action lawsuit which argued that, given their length of time with the company, they were not in fact temporary workers and were therefore being denied benefits to which they were entitled. \u00a0The lawsuit wound its way through the courts for eight years. \u00a0At the end of the day, the workers won. \u00a0Microsoft paid a $97 million settlement, which amounted to an average settlement of $10,000 for each of the plaintiffs. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What Is the Law Governing Temporary Employees?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Most temporary workers are hired by staffing agencies, which then ferret those workers out to client companies. \u00a0Many of the legal issues which surround temporary workers have to do with this nebulous arrangement. \u00a0When violations of worker rights (such as discrimination) occur, for example, who is liable, the staffing agency or the client firm? \u00a0Are temporary workers \u201cemployees\u201d of those client firms, or \u201cindependent contractors\u201d who work for the staffing agency?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Are Both Staffing Agencies and Client Companies Liable for Discrimination?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eeoc.gov\/policy\/docs\/conting.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">EEOC<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">), both staffing agencies and client firms can be sued for discrimination:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cStaffing firm workers are generally covered under the anti- discrimination statutes. \u00a0This is because they typically qualify as “employees” of the staffing firm, the client to whom they are assigned, or both. \u00a0\u00a0Thus, staffing firms <\/span><\/i><b><i>and the clients to whom they assign workers<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> may not discriminate against the workers on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability (emphasis added).\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Essentially, what this means is that client firms can\u2019t defend discriminatory actions with the argument that they are not the employer. \u00a0In the same way, if a client asks a staffing agency for \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">only white women in their 20’s<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201d to fill sales positions during the holiday season and the agency complies, <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/do-temporary-workers-have-any-rights\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">both the agency and the client firm are liable<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> under anti-discrimination statutes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Are Temporary Workers Employees of the Client Firm or Independent Contractors?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many of the abuses which temporary workers suffer are due to misclassification of their employment status. \u00a0Workers who are classified as employees of the client firm have rights which don\u2019t apply to independent contractors who work for the staffing agency.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When a client firm <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6kG6PYtlUmM&feature=youtu.be\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">controls a worker\u2019s hours, wages or working conditions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (for example, telling him what his weekly work schedule is), that worker should be classified as an employee even if the staffing agency has classified him as an independent contractor. \u00a0As such, the worker is entitled to a number of employee rights, including legally-compliant meal and rest breaks and paid overtime. \u00a0When such misclassification occurs, employees can sue the client firm for back wages and penalties.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The laws covering the rights of temporary workers change frequently. \u00a0For example, in 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a landmark new law, <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/calaborfed.org\/gov-_brown_signs_landmark_bill_to_protect_temp_workers\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">AB 1897<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, that holds corporations in the state accountable when workers hired using labor contractors are cheated out of wages or forced to work in unsafe conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">All employees have rights, including temporary workers. \u00a0If you are a temporary worker and suspect your rights are being violated, you need to take action and seek competent legal assistance. \u00a0The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/attorney-profiles\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">attorneys<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> at Aiman-Smith & Marcy have won millions in settlements on behalf of California employees. \u00a0They will work as team and in close collaboration with you to defend your rights. \u00a0If you need help because your employer is violating those rights, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/contact-us\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">contact us<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> today. <\/span><\/p>\n","comment_info":"17 Comments","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8569"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8569"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8569\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13537,"href":"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8569\/revisions\/13537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asmlawyers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}