Temporary Workers' Rights
All employees have worker rights, even if they are temporary employees with a company. Some temporary employees may not receive vacation or sick time, but if they need to be off, it is their right to have the day off with a valid excuse or reasoning. Some temporary employees have the right to receive insurance from a temporary agency if they have worked for the agency long enough.
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Temporary Employees
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Those workers who work for a company, but are not hired on to the company with a full-time or part-time position, are considered temporary employees. Employees who work for a temporary agency are also considered temporary workers. Temporary employees do not receive all of the benefits a permanent employee would, such as health insurance. One reason companies hire temporary employees is that if the employee does not last in the position, the employer will not be responsible for paying unemployment benefits to the employee.
Minimum Wage
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The laws state that a temporary employee must be paid the minimum wage requirement for his state. Therefore, if your state has minimum wage set at $7.35, then the temporary employee must receive this amount or more. Going below minimum wage is illegal, unless you are in the restaurant waitress business, where other guidelines and laws are in place.
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Overtime Pay
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If a temporary employee works overtime, he must be paid the overtime rate. If permanent employees receive time-and-a half pay for their overtime worked, the temporary employee must receive the same pay. Some companies allow permanent employees who work overtime to save the time for compensation time, which may be used for vacation or personal time off at a later date. If the temporary employee is not eligible for compensation time, then she must be paid for their overtime hours worked.
Time Off
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Some employers give their permanent workers vacation and sick time immediately upon hire; in other cases workers start accruing the time after working for specific time period, such as 60 or 90 days. Having this sick and vacation time will allow the employees to be paid for days when they are absent. Temporary employees do not receive these paid days off, unless they work for a temporary agency that gives the credits for holidays after the employee has worked a certain number of hours. However, the temporary employee must still be allowed to take the time off, without pay, if he is ill or has other personal circumstances that require him to be absent.
Discrimination Rights
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All temporary workers are protected under the equal-employment opportunity laws, just as permanent employees are. If an employer terminates a temporary employee based on age, race, national origin, gender or marital status, the temporary employee may file a discrimination suit against the employer, just as a permanent employee can. For instance, it is not legal for an employer to refuse hiring a temporary employee because she is disabled, as long as that disability will not prevent her from doing the job listed in the job description.
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