On November 17, 2023, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed HB3641, an amendment to the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act (DTLSA) that delays a key equal pay and benefits provision. Under the new law, staffing agencies are not obliged to pay equivalent remuneration and benefits to temporary employees before those employees have actually worked for a third-party client more than 90 workdays afterApril 1, 2024.
The amendment, as reported by Gould & Ratner LLP, represents a noticeable shift in the calculation of the 90-calendar-day threshold originally prescribed by the DTLSA. Before the enactment of this change, the countdown to the 90-day mark began from the moment a temporary worker was hired.
This revised legislation carries substantial implications for both staffing agencies and corporations employing temporary labor. The new rule now effectively spaces out the period before a temporary employee can command the same pay and benefits as their permanent counterparts, which may have far-reaching consequences on employment relationships and employee turnover rates within these organizations.
This development underscores the need for legal professionals to stay abreast of alterations to employment law, as such changes have the potential to severely impact how big corporations and law firms manage their temporary workforce.