MassLive.com (08/12/12) Jim Kinney

Springfield, MA-based United Personnel says Massachusetts’ new law requiring temporary staffing firms to formally disclose more information to employees imposes a burden that will likely mean the company will have to hire someone to help manage the paperwork involved. “I think the intent of the law—to protect temporary employees—is admirable,” says United Personnel president Patricia Canavan. “I’m probably going to hire someone to help me manage this.”

Edward Lenz, senior vice president for legal and public affairs at the American Staffing Association, says the law is geared toward companies that pick up workers at a designated point and transport them to a work site. That’s not what most temporary staffing firms do, he says.

The association lobbied on behalf of ASA members in Massachusetts, and he says the law on the books now is much more fair to staffing firms. However, “we still think it is not necessary. There are existing laws on the books and enforcement should have been stepped up.”