| Today's post is shared from http://www.propublica.org/ The bill, inspired in part by a ProPublica investigation, will hold companies accountable for labor abuses by temp agencies and subcontractors they use.The California legislature has passed a bill that would hold companies legally responsible if the temp agencies and subcontractors they hire cheat workers out of their wages or put them in harm's way. Labor officials across the country have increasingly expressed concern about the rapid growth of the temporary staffing industry since the recession. They have also noted the push by hotels and warehouses to subcontract work that is part of their core business, such as cleaning guest rooms and unloading trucks. Assembly Bill 1897, passed Thursday night, was inspired in part by a ProPublica investigation last year that found that temp workers were more likely to be injured on the job than regular workers and that some temps for brand-name companies were being charged fees that brought their pay below minimum wage. "We are one step closer to preventing companies from engaging in a 21st century scam by claiming the men and women who do their work are not really employees, but 'temporary workers' for labor contractors or agencies," Jim Hoffa, president of the Teamsters union, said in a statement after the bill passed the state Senate earlier this week. "This corporate shell game allows corporations to deny responsibility for basic worker rights like pay, benefits, and working conditions." The Teamsters and the... |
