Former Temporary Worker Recalls Experience Working with Staffing Agency and How it Propelled Him to Become a Successful Business Owner

NJSA Also Outlines Inaccuracies and Clarifications Regarding S-511/A-1474 That Could Jeopardize the Jobs of Thousands of New Jersey Workers

Trenton, NJ – December 13, 2022 — Minister Bo Jackson, who founded an outdoor church at the City of Elizabeth’s train station, started as a temporary worker and now owns his own business, Best Solution Pest Management. The success of his business is due in large part to his experiences with temporary employment. His business currently holds 700 accounts across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Jackson recalled his start with a staffing agency in Elizabeth, “I walked up to the temp agency and they gave me hope that I’d be able to have a consistent income and they treated me like family, they gave me the opportunity. I credit them for the jumpstart that they gave me.”

Jackson continued, “What the staffing agency does is it actually helps other temps guide or transition the work experience to make sure they had what they needed in order to do their job. Whenever I shared any concerns with my higher-ups, they were able to help immediately and that made me feel like I had some clout.” During a time of job transition, Jackson remarked how the manager at the staffing agency was able to reassure him that he would be given the opportunity for a steady income, “He’s an awesome guy, he didn’t just promise me that I’d have consistent work, he promised my wife that her husband would have consistent work.”

When asked about what would happen if the passage of S-511/A-1474 led to the elimination of jobs in the industrial and light industrial industry, Mr. Jackson said, “It will actually cause a couple of things; first, it will lead to an increase in crime. Job employment options are scarce and the economy will take a serious hit. With even fewer jobs for people to make money, how can businesses continue to thrive? It’s a huge chain reaction and whoever is pushing this bill isn’t really looking at people. I don’t know what their agenda is but it would be a shame.”

With the impending vote on S-511/A-1474 on Monday, December 19, the New Jersey Staffing Alliance (NJSA), the voice for staffing firms across the Garden State, is emphasizing the importance of putting a stop to S-511/A-1474, referred to as the Temp Workers’ Bill of Rights. Governor Murphy’s conditional veto of S-511/A-1474 addressed several administrative issues but left in place significant elements that would cause great harm to the industrial and light industrial sectors of the temporary staffing industry, its clients, and the thousands of workers whom this bill’s sponsors purported to benefit and protect. The Senate vote on the bill has been tabled twice and two former supporting senators of the bill have since revoked their support.

NJSA is an essential supplier of personnel to businesses in the State of New Jersey and is an essential service provider. NJSA’s staffing agencies supported the production of the vaccine, its packing, shipping, and delivery. NJSA’s staffing agencies were responsible for the delivery and shipping of food and essential products throughout the pandemic. NJSA’s staffing agencies continue to keep New Jersey moving by helping job seekers find employment opportunities, especially in desperate times of need.

There are some great points in the bill which NJSA endorses, but there are some terrible parts, based on inaccuracies that can destroy certain sectors of the temporary staffing industry. The negative chain reaction Minister Jackson foresees is something legislators need to take into account. If passed, the bill could stifle workforce innovation, employment opportunities that lead to long-term financial sufficiency, and economic growth in the State of New Jersey.

This bill will limit opportunities for thousands of New Jerseyans in the industrial and light industrial sectors, including the long-term unemployed, the under-employed, veterans, single mothers, those who have been previously incarcerated, and others who are too often overlooked. Jackson’s personal experience with temporary work was a direct result of a recession, when he found himself out of work. Anyone who has experienced this type of loss of work before knows how devastating it can be, but not all legislators can really grasp the concept.

When the sponsors of the bill refused to negotiate with NJSA further and passed the bill, NJSA’s only recourse was with the governor. NJSA reached out to the Governor’s office and worked with his staff urging the Governor to issue a conditional veto and make several key changes. Although the Governor did issue a conditional veto, many of the changes that NJSA advocated for were not included, leaving NJSA no choice but to urge the legislature to reject the Governor’s conditional veto.

Inaccuracies and clarifications regarding S-511/A-1474:

• The staffing industry employs 500,000 temporary employees, many of whom would be impacted by this legislation.
• Many of these logistic and warehouse jobs are at Exit 8 and 8A corridor where there is no public transportation in locations such as Robbinsville, Carteret, Florence, Lakewood Township, Wood-Ridge, Cranbury Township, Edison, and South Jersey.
• The bill prohibits agencies from charging temporary workers for transportation that the agency provides to or from work. Without this benefit, many of the workers who rely on this transportation would no longer be able to get themselves to work every day.
• The bill’s requirement for staffing agencies to pay at least the average pay and cost equivalent of benefits received by client employees performing the same or substantially similar work will be problematic for employers as pay is proprietary and competitive information. Additionally, the bill fails to consider employers rewarding worker loyalty, training, and knowledge of the company that are factored into pay.

It is due to the staffing industry that workers like Minister Bo Jackson are provided the opportunity to flourish professionally in diverse work environments. NJSA urges senators to vote “NO” on Monday, December 19 during their senate session committee hearing and to work together with industry leaders on developing a more sensible piece of legislation that best serves both employees and staffing agencies alike.

Please join the NJSA in this fight by visiting protectnjjobs.com.