Contingent Work: A Silent Revolution in the American Workforce

States have begun to enact laws in response to a fast-growing trend – companies cutting corners by hiring contingent workers instead of full-time permanent employees. Over the past decade, the number of contingent or "non-standard" workers has grown to almost one-third of the workforce.Working in part-time, temporary, contract, day labor, and other employment arrangements, many of these non-standard workers labor side-by-side with permanent employees. Yet, they are paid less and receive little or no health care, pension, vacation, sick leave or other benefits. In the past, these employment practices were mostly found in sectors such as migrant farm work and garment sweatshops. But since the 1990s, non-standard work has become an integral part of the new economy.

On an average day, about 2.8 million Americans work as temps. Ten years ago, half of all temporary workers were filling clerical positions. Today, the number of clerical workers – 39 percent of the temp workforce – is nearly matched by the number of industrial and construction workers – 35 percent of the non-standard workforce. In October 1999, over 20 percent (45,000) of the 215,000 new jobs created were temporary jobs. And the use of temps will grow; surveys indicate that two-thirds of U.S. firms plan to expand their use of non-standard workers in the next five years.

Non-standard workers are not covered by key labor and employment laws that full time employees often take for granted. Too often they do not have the right to collective bargaining, family leave or unemployment insurance. Further, some employers misclassify workers as independent consultants so they do not have to offer benefits. Typically, temp agencies fail to provide their workers with an accurate description of jobs, pay scales and work schedules.

"With little public scrutiny, the temp industry and other interested employer groups have lobbied aggressively in the states to rewrite laws protecting the basic employment rights of non-standard workers," reports Maurice Emsellem, Public Policy Director with the National Employment Law Project. "Just in the past few years, however, a new movement has taken hold to organize non-standard workers, forging labor and community alliances to work with state legislatures to meet the new realities of the growing non-standard workforce."

States can take action to protect temporary workers. Some states limit temp work in state employment. Others guarantee unemployment insurance, require written notice of wages and benefits, or prohibit unreasonable deductions from contingent workers’ paychecks.

"Just in the past few years, however, a new movement has taken hold to organize non-standard workers, forging labor and community alliances to work with state legislatures to meet the new realities of the growing non-standard workforce."
—Maurice Emsellem,
Public Policy Director
with the National Employment Law Project

For a copy of CPA’s policy brief on contingent work and a Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights, click here.