In the recent decision of New Jersey Staffing Alliance v. Fais, — F.4th —- (3d. Cir. July 24, 2024), the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of a preliminary injunction seeking to bar enforcement of New Jersey’s Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights Law.

New Jersey’s Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights Law, which took effect on August 5, 2023, provides benefits to temporary workers by mandating disclosure of wage and benefit information, and also includes equal pay and anti-retaliation provisions, among other benefits. The protections cover “temporary laborers” who are defined as “those who are placed in a temporary assignment by a temporary help service firm to perform work in occupations as designated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).”  

In response to the law, a group of staffing agencies sued New Jersey and various state agencies, seeking a preliminary injunction on the grounds that that the law violates the dormant Commerce Clause. The District of New Jersey Court denied the preliminary injunction after concluding that the staffing agencies were unlikely to succeed on the merits of their arguments. The staffing agencies appealed and argued that the economic burdens imposed by the law threatened their existence, the law imposed undue burdens on interstate commerce, and the equal pay provisions of the law are unduly vague.

The Third Circuit panel disagreed with the staffing agencies, affirming the denial of the preliminary injunction. The panel concluded the law “neither selectively imposes economic burdens on out-of-state staffing firms nor gives in-state firms an economic advantage.” The panel further found that the law does not violate the dormant Commerce Clause because the law “does not economically favor in-state firms or customers over their out-of-state counterparts.”

The panel also dismissed the staffing agencies’ argument that two of the law’s terms, “benefits” and “same or substantially similar work”, are impermissibly vague. The panel determined that “[t]he presence of ‘some ambiguities’ does not prevent enforcement of an economic regulation; rather, it is void for vagueness only if it is ‘so vague as to be no rule or standard at all.’”

Despite the ruling, staffing agencies have not given up on their pursuit to overturn the law. The groups filed an amended complaint in New Jersey district court arguing that the law’s benefits requirements are preempted under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

Nonetheless, for the time being, New Jersey’s Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights Law remains in full effect. Thus, employers and staffing firms that operate in New Jersey should review New Jersey’s Department of Labor & Workforce Development’s website, which contains proposed rules for implementing the law.