A plan that would have increased safeguards for temporary workers was put on hold by the state Senate on Monday due to resistance from Republicans and, reportedly, some Democrats.
According to Joe Cryan (D-Union), the main Senate proponent of the measure, “It got held because the lives of temporary employees simply don’t matter enough to the people who need to vote.”
The bill was narrowly approved by both chambers of the legislature this summer, but Gov. Phil Murphy conditionally vetoed it last month. He proposed a number of changes, including a more specific definition of a temporary worker, a $1 million appropriation for enforcement, and a 90-day window for educating state officials about the provisions of the bill.
The law, among other things, would impose wage floor protections, ban some fees from being charged to temporary workers, and compel temporary staffing companies to register with the state Department of Community Affairs.
Four workers were killed when a vehicle carrying them away from a job collided on the Palisades Interstate Parkway, one of many tragedies among temporary and warehouse workers in recent months.
It’s obvious that those lives simply aren’t important enough, much alone the workers who are subjected to abuses and situations that are inadmissible, Cryan said.
Business organizations are opposed to the bill because they believe its provisions will make it difficult for staffing firms to remain in operation.
In order to advocate approval of the bill, supporters from Make the Road New Jersey temporarily interrupted Monday’s voting session. Sen. Dick Codey (D-Essex), who was in charge of the Senate at the time, eventually forced them to leave the gallery.
On October 3, the Assembly overrode the governor’s veto, but the Senate’s attempts to do the same have been hampered by smaller margins.
Only 21 senators voted in favor of the original law when it was passed a second time by the Senate in August due to a technical error. Fred Madden (D-Gloucester) and Shirley Turner (D-Mercer), two Democratic senators, were not present for that meeting. Madden reportedly told New Jersey Advance Media on Monday that he no longer supports the bill due to a fresh conflict of interest but would not elaborate.
Sens. Joe Vitale (D-Middlesex) and Sandra Cunningham (D-Hudson), two additional Democrats, did not participate in Monday’s vote. In August, both cast yes votes.
The 21st of November is the scheduled date for the next Senate session. There is no time limit on when you must agree to a conditional veto.
