New Law Changes Frequency of Payment To Temp Workers

On July 22, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law Senate Bill 940 which will change payroll practices applicable to “temporary service” workers.  Under the new law, which will go into effect in January of next year, temporary service agencies must pay temps every week instead of every other week.  The law also requires agencies to pay temps daily when they work for a client on a “day-to-day basis.”  The new legislation creates another exception for workers on an assignment “for over 90 consecutive calendar days.”  The weekly payment requirement does not apply to these employees unless their employers pay them weekly.

The civil and criminal penalties that can be imposed against employers for violating wage payment requirements will also apply to employers that violate the new law.  The bill, which was authored by Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo), comes in response to a California Supreme Court ruling, which held that the end of a temporary assignment constitutes a discharge requiring immediate payment of wages.  Under the new law, the termination of an assignment does not constitute a discharge. Nonetheless, wages must still be paid within 72 hours if a temp resigns and immediately if the agency fires the worker.

Note: This article appeared in the August 18, 2008 issue of the California eAuthority.