Bill Text: NH HB1189 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relative to temporary worker rights.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-10-31 - Interim Study Report: Recommended For Future Legislation (Vote 12-2) [HB1189 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2014-HB1189-Introduced.html
HB 1189 – AS INTRODUCED
2014 SESSION
06/03
HOUSE BILL 1189
AN ACT relative to temporary worker rights.
COMMITTEE: Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services
This bill requires temporary staffing companies to provide temporary workers with certain information.
This bill also provides certain protections for temporary workers.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
14-2060
06/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fourteen
AN ACT relative to temporary worker rights.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Subdivision; Temporary Workers. Amend RSA 275 by inserting after section 70 the following new subdivision:
275:71 Definitions. In this subdivision:
I. “Commissioner” means the commissioner of labor.
II. “Work site employer” means any individual, business, or nonprofit entity, including a sole proprietorship, company, limited liability company, joint venture society, association, corporation, manager, contractor, subcontractor, partnership, bureau, service, agency, or office, or the agent or employee of any of the forgoing, for whom a temporary staffing company procures or undertakes to procure a temporary worker or workers.
III. “Temporary staffing company” means any person, business, company, or agency conducting a business which consists of recruiting, procuring, or employing individuals directly for the purpose of furnishing part time or temporary help to other individuals, businesses, companies, organizations, or agencies.
IV. “Temporary worker” means any worker employed or procured by a temporary staffing company for placement or assignment to a temporary job position with a client or work site
employer.
275:72 Notices and Disclosures.
I. A temporary staffing company shall provide each temporary worker with the following notices and disclosures on the date of hire and each time a worker is placed in a new work assignment, including renewed, extended, or repeated work assignments for the same work site employer or entity:
(a) The name and telephone number of the temporary staffing company and the agent facilitating the placement, and the address and operating hours of the staffing company’s principle location. Any temporary staffing company that does not maintain a geographic business address, walk-in office, dispatch location, or day-labor hall shall provide a working phone number and the hours when a live representative of the company may be contacted;
(b) The name of the work site employer and exact work site address for a temporary worker’s job assignment, directions to the work site, and a telephone number at the work site for use in emergencies;
(c) The duration and hours of the work to be performed by the temporary worker, including the start date, daily starting and end times, days on which the assigned work will be performed, the anticipated end date, and whether there is any possibility of overtime work or extension of the assignment past the anticipated end date;
(d) The rate of wages and compensation including any benefits to be paid for the work, the overtime rate of pay, and the designated pay day;
(e) A detailed description of the work to be performed by the temporary worker and whether the worker must have or receive special training or licensing, as required by law, to perform the assigned work and any requirement for special attire, accessories, tools, and safety equipment;
(f) A complete and accurate description of work site hazards to which the temporary worker may become exposed, or the name of a contact person at the work site who can provide a complete and accurate description of such work site hazards;
(g) A list of protective equipment, including personal protective equipment that will be provided at no charge by the staffing company or work site employer;
(h) A statement of the temporary worker’s right to workers’ compensation benefits and the employer’s workers’ compensation carrier name and phone number;
(i) The cost of the transportation to the assigned work site, if any, when such transportation is provided by either the temporary staffing company or the work site employer, and whether the work site is accessible by public or personal transportation; and
(j) Whether any meals are provided, either by the temporary staffing company or the work site employer, and the cost of such meals, as allowed under RSA 275:76.
II. The notices and disclosures required in this section shall be written in English and any other language or languages that are generally used in the locale or locales of the temporary staffing company or the work site employers it serves. Copies of all the notices required by this section shall be kept on file for a period of one year by the temporary services companies and shall be made available for inspection by any affected temporary workers, without charge, within 10 days of an initial request.
III. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a temporary staffing company from hiring a temporary worker by telephone, but such telephone message shall comply with the disclosure requirements in this section and shall be confirmed in writing by the staffing company and provided with the temporary workers first paycheck or first payment of wages or prior to the date of first payment when requested by the worker.
275:73 Required Health and Safety and Employer Discrimination Posters.
I. A temporary staffing company shall provide each temporary worker employed by the company, on the date of hire, the posting location of the following required employer posters:
(a) The New Hampshire commission for human rights required employer poster on employment discrimination; and,
(b) The United States Department of Labor required poster on employee rights under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 29 U.S.C. section 651 et seq.
II. The temporary staffing company shall also provide a clear written summary of the company’s employer policy on addressing employment discrimination and workplace safety complaints, with specific instructions about reporting procedures for temporary workers who believe they have been exposed to health and safety violations or discriminatory actions by the temporary staffing company or at an assigned work site.
III. In the event that a temporary staffing company that does not maintain a geographic business address, walk-in office, dispatch location, or day-labor hall, or when a temporary worker is placed in a work assignment without reporting to the temporary staffing company’s principle location, legible copies of the required posters may be provided to a temporary worker with the worker’s first payment of wages or prior to the date of first payment when requested by the worker.
275:74 Temporary Worker Protections.
I. A temporary services company that operates an office where temporary workers are required to appear for assignment to work or for payment or compensation shall provide facilities for a worker waiting at the labor hall for a job assignment that include restroom facilities, drinking water, and sufficient seating.
II. A temporary staffing company shall insure any motor vehicle owned or operated by the company and used for the transportation of workers.
III. A temporary staffing company’s workers’ compensation insurance premiums shall be determined and paid based on the experience rating of the work site employer for which the temporary worker performs services. Premiums for employees supplied by the temporary staffing company shall be based on the same occupation codes as the work site employer company uses for the payment of premiums on behalf of its own employees performing similar work. All records showing the information justifying the premiums paid by the temporary staffing company shall be retained by the company for a minimum of 3 years. The absence of a record shall be presumed to mean that justification for the related premium payment does not exist and the conditions of this section have not been met with respect to the temporary workers or workers for whom the premium was paid.
IV. No temporary staffing company shall make or give, or cause to be made or given, any false, misleading, or deceptive advertisements, information, or representations concerning the services, compensation or benefits, or work opportunities that the company will provide to temporary workers.
V. All advertisements of a temporary staffing company shall contain the correct name of the temporary services company and at least one of the following: the street address of the company’s place of business or the correct telephone number of the company at its place of business.
275:75 Pay and Compensation. A temporary staffing company shall:
I. Compensate temporary workers for work performed in the form of cash, or commonly accepted negotiable instruments that are payable in cash, on demand at a financial institution, and without discount regardless of the form or manner of payment.
II. Compensate temporary workers at or above the federal or state minimum wage. In no event shall any deductions, other than those permitted by federal or state law, bring the worker’s pay below minimum wage for the hours worked.
III. Pay the temporary worker the prevailing wage or the wage established by the temporary staffing company, whichever is higher, when a temporary worker is assigned to a work site employer or contractor on a project covered by local, state, or federal prevailing wage laws or a Project Labor Agreement.
IV. Compensate each temporary worker who uses the worker’s own motor vehicle for transportation to a jobsite for the fair market value of such use, including the value of transporting other workers to the jobsite in the vehicle.
V. At the time of each payment of wages, provide each temporary worker a written itemized statement showing in detail the dates worked, hours worked on each date, rate of pay, total amount of wages paid, and each deduction made from such wages, and printed with the name, address, and phone number of the temporary staffing company on each page of the statement.
VI. Provide each worker with an annual earnings summary within a reasonable period of time after the end of the preceding calendar year, but no later than February 1.
275:76 Prohibited Charges and Deductions.
I. No temporary staffing company or work site employer shall charge a temporary worker for any of the following items or services:
(a) A fee for the cost of registration with the staffing agency or the cost of procuring employment.
(b) Safety equipment, clothing, tools, accessories, training, or any other items required by the nature of the work either by law, custom, or as a requirement of the work site employer.
(c) Directly or indirectly cashing a worker’s check.
(d) More than the actual cost of providing a meal or transportation, if a meal or transportation is provided at the work site by the temporary staffing company, but in no case shall the purchase of transportation or a meal be a condition of employment.
II. For items other than those in paragraph I, which the temporary services company makes available for purchase, the day laborer shall be charged no more than the actual cost of the item to the labor pool, or market value, whichever is less.
III. Nothing in this section shall preclude the temporary services company from charging the temporary worker the market value of items temporarily provided to the worker by the temporary services company, in the event that the worker willfully fails to return such items to the company, but no charge may be made for items damaged through ordinary use or lost through no fault of the temporary worker.
275:77 Employment of Temporary Workers on Public Works Projects. Any temporary staffing company which procures temporary workers for a business, construction company, contractor, or subcontractor for employment on a public works project covered under federal, state, or local labor regulations or a Project Labor Agreement, shall be classified as a subcontractor for the purposes of certification, compliance, and employee payroll reporting, and shall abide by all regulations and requirements regarding prevailing wages, occupational safety rules, and workers compensation insurance.
275:78 Prohibited Practices. A temporary staffing company or a work site employer shall not discharge, reduce the compensation of, or otherwise discriminate against any employee for making a complaint of a violation of the provisions of this subdivision, for using any civil remedies to enforce his or her rights, or for otherwise asserting his or her rights under the provisions of this subdivision.
275:79 Penalties and Enforcement.
I. Any person, temporary staffing company, or work site employer who violates the provisions of this subdivision may be fined by the commissioner up to $500 per employee for each day the violation continues. A temporary staffing company aggrieved by the commissioner’s assessment may appeal in accordance with RSA 273:11-c.
II. Any such fines or penalties for violations of the labor law of New Hampshire shall be assessed either against the temporary staffing company or the work site employer based upon the commensurate level of control of the work site and each party’s responsibility for compliance with the applicable violation.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2015.
