Do I have rights as a temporary worker?
As a temporary, contingent, or contract worker, you have the same rights at work as permanent employees. No one can discriminate against you in the American workplace. Neither the agency nor the contracted company where he works can violate his statutory rights against his race, sex, gender, religion, color, national origin, age or disability. Both the agency you work for and the company they send you to share responsibility for making sure you are not exposed to unlawful discrimination.
Despite laws that protect all workers, many temporary workers face illegal discrimination in the workplace, and they do so because they may not be fully aware of their rights in the workplace. Many of those who suffer this type of infringement against their rights do not know who to turn to. It is important that temporary workers know their rights and therefore demand the respect they deserve at work.
Am I a temporary?
You are a temporary employee if you are employed by a temporary employment agency. Typically, this temporary contracting company will place you at another company’s job site to produce the work. In this case, as soon as you start doing work that contributes to the profits of that company; both agency staff and administrative staff may supervise you. In the scheme of things, you are outsourced to another company. You can tell who is in charge. Is it the agency or company where you work that tells you what to do? The answer is this: As a temp worker, it’s safe to assume that both the agency and the company you’re sent to work for are, in essence, your boss. So if you find a problem at work, you should properly inform both parties. The rule is to report any and all problems to the temp agency first. The agency will usually take care of any issues with the company they send you to, but if they don’t do it to your satisfaction, you have the right to file a complaint with the subsequent company, especially if your rights have been violated at work .
To further assess who is ultimately responsible for you as a temporary worker, find out who provides the critical tools, materials or equipment you will be working with. Are you working in a private business on your own or not? How do you get paid? Do you receive benefits? Since there may be many other factors that can make you a temporary worker, call the ERA (below) or other organizations for more information on your temporary employment status.
Remember: If you are discriminated against as a temporary worker, the responsibility can lie with both the agency that employs you and the company to which they sent you. The agency must stop the discrimination immediately. Also, the company you are sent to may be liable if it supervises your work and monitors you during your interim assignment. Ask yourself if the agency and the company share or divide functions.
Remember: If things go wrong on your assignment, you have the right to go through your agency’s grievance process first. Write down the complaint and make a claim to the Human Resources Department of both companies. If your complaint cannot be resolved, inform both parties that you intend to file a charge with a state or federal agency.
Follow the same rules that the regular full-employment worker follows when filing your state or federal claim. After exhausting all of the agency’s/company’s internal procedural grievance policies, speak with an employment lawyer for more information on how to exercise all of your rights. People who implement these laws as working professionals have a better understanding of how you can legally exercise your rights. Just like the regular full-time employee, remember to document your case and keep copious records and a paper record of work events.
Always use the company’s grievance or complaint process (first) to resolve any issues you may experience at work. You can call the ERA Advice and Advice Line at 1-800-839-4ERA to learn more about your rights as a temporary employee.
Great Employee Resources (Help) to Call Below NOTE: Check the Yellow Pages if numbers or locations change.
More state resources:
California Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
350 The Embarcadero Suite 500
San Francisco, CA 94105-1260
415-356-5100
Phone: 1-800-669-4000: Fax: 415-625-5609: TTY: 1-800-669-6820:
Director: Miguel Baldonado
California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH)
30 Van Ness Avenue, Suite #3000
San Francisco, CA 94102
(800) 884-1684
Labor Law Center
Workers’ Rights Clinics
East Bay, South Bay, San Francisco
(415) 864-8208
La Raza Legal Center
Valencia Street 474, Suite #295
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 575-3500
Chinese for affirmative action
17 Walter U. Lum Plaza
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 274-6750
(Available Chinese services: Cantonese and Mandarin)
NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund
99 Hudson St., 12th Floor
New York, NY 10013
(212) 925-6635
9 to 5 National Association of Working Women
231 West Wisconsin Avenue – Suite #900
Milwaukee, WI 53203
(800) 522-0925
THE TEN BEST TEMPORARY WORK AGENCIES
1.Adecco
2.Manpower
3.Kelly Services
4.Olsten
5. Temporary services
6. Abundant
7.Robert Half International
8.Westaff
9. Office equipment
10. Apple One
