Latest news with #Sarlo
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New bill would remove some protections for temporary workers in New Jersey
The new bill comes less than two years after the law known as the "Temp Workers Bill of Rights" went into effect. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor) The sponsor of 2023 legislation that created new workplace protections for temporary workers blasted a new bill that would remove many of those safeguards. 'I believe in equal pay. I believe in equal benefits for equal work,' Sen. Joe Cryan (D-Union) told the Senate Labor Committee Monday. The new bill, which the committee discussed but did not vote on Monday, comes less than two years after the law known as the 'Temp Workers Bill of Rights'' went into effect. That law requires employers to provide basic information on jobs in workers' native language and guarantees a minimum wage to an estimated 127,000 temporary workers, staffed mostly in warehouses and factories. Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen), sponsor of the new bill, had voted in support of the earlier law, which passed after a years-long push by labor advocates who said the state's temporary workers were victims of exploitative job conditions and wage theft. Sarlo's bill seeks to make several key changes to the temp worker law. The current law requires staffing agencies to pay temp workers the same pay and benefits given to full-time workers performing the same work. Sarlo's bill would revise that to remove the benefits provision and leaving only equal pay. Under the bill, equal pay would mean the agency is required to pay the equivalent of a client's entry-level pay rate for a worker with minimum qualifications. A provision of the law requiring staffing agencies to disclose pay rates would also change under Sarlo's bill, which would reverse that requirement. The law also applies to New Jersey temp workers who take jobs in other states. Sarlo's bill would ax that provision, saying it is 'causing third-party clients in other states to reduce their use of temporary laborers from New Jersey.' Mike Nolfo, a franchisee for Express Employment Professionals, said his company employs nearly 2,000 temporary workers daily at 300 local businesses. Nolfo supports the new bill, and said it's an opportunity to help mom-and-pop shops that are struggling because of the new law. He agreed that Pennsylvania companies aren't using New Jersey agencies because of state laws. 'We lost virtually all of our clients in East Stroudsburg because of this law, because they just don't want to comply with it,' he said. 'There's a lot of pieces to it. We're not saying the whole thing. Some of it doesn't make sense.' The temp worker law passed out of the Legislature in February 2023 with the minimum number of yes votes a bill needs to pass the Senate, 21. It went into full effect that summer. Staffing agencies and business groups sued over the law, claiming it is unconstitutionally vague and makes New Jersey less competitive. Cryan noted the plaintiffs have lost all their legal challenges. Cryan said supporters of the new bill say it's aimed at cleaning up mistakes in the law, but he called the measure 'far from that.' Opponents of the bill said weakening the protections of temporary workers only hurts vulnerable people who are abused and exploited in the workplace. Nedia Morsy, executive director of immigrant advocacy group Make the Road New Jersey, said it's 'stunning that in a climate of federal attacks on workers, on immigrants, and on the institutions that protect both, that a bill like this would even see the light of day.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
East Hampton officials reassure wealthy residents that officers won't deport illegal migrant maids, landscapers and nannies
East Hampton government officials are trying to quell wealthy residents' fears that local police could deport illegal migrants from the tony town — many of whom work as maids, landscapers, and nannies to support the luxurious lifestyles of the well-off locals. Village and town leaders held a special community meeting on Tuesday to assure citizens of Long Island's exclusive nabe — where the median property value is $2 million — that their hired help are not on their radar when it comes to deportation. East Hampton Village Police Chief Jeffrey Erickson stressed that local law enforcement do not have authority to enforce federal law — and won't hold onto undocumented immigrants if given an ICE detainer. 'If it is an ICE detainer or an administrative warrant, we do not have the authority, we will not hold them,' Erickson told a concerned resident, according to the East Hampton Star. The sentiment was echoed by East Hampton Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo at a separate meeting. 'Our level of participation and cooperation with ICE lies in criminal matters,' Sarlo told the town board at a meeting Tuesday. 'I haven't seen an ICE agent in this town in I can't tell you how long.' 'You see what I'm wearing here,' Sarlo said dramatically pointing to his firearm, 'People who wear this and put this on don't interfere with other people who wear this and put this on because then people die. You don't step in front of an Immigration Enforcement officer in uniform with a gun and a badge who's taking his action.' 'That's for attorneys to get involved in and that is for policies and procedures through the state to get involved,' he added. Some East Hampton residents were grateful for the reassurance that their undocumented employees and neighbors will be able to avoid deportation. 'I think it's a very good idea and very helpful considering we have a very large community here, and people rely on them,' Alex Lovett, of East Hampton, told News12. 'They've been a vital part of the community for a very long time,' she empathized. The local officials said a major purpose for the small-scale messaging campaign is to assure undocumented residents that they can interact with police without fear of deportation. 'If they're a victim of a crime, we don't want them to fear the police, we want them to call us so we can protect them,' Erickson said in an interview to the local news station. Also on Tuesday, the East Hampton Town Board held a two-hour public hearing where members of the Latino community expressed their concerns over the Trump administration's new immigration policies. Sandra Melendez — an East Hampton Village trustee, immigration attorney, and Spanish speaker –addressed the community and stressed that they are not obligated to cooperate with ICE, the local paper reported. At that town board hearing Councilwoman Cate Rogers stated that the well-heeled townies will remain vigilant as the federal government attempts to enforce immigration law. 'The rules are being rewritten by the second,' the councilwoman said, according to the East Hampton Star. 'I want to assure everyone that this is the beginning of a conversation. It's not a one-and-done statement, 'Okay we did our job let's move on.' We're invested. We're your neighbors, and we're with you.' This resistance-style approach taken by the officials in East Hampton is a far cry from the actions taken by authorities elsewhere on Long Island. Earlier this week, Nassau County police were granted authority to help ICE arrest criminal migrants under a new agreement with the Trump administration. Ten detectives were granted the authority from County Executive Bruce Blakeman and will coordinate with ICE. 'Our detectives will arrest illegal immigrants engaged in criminal activity. We want to make sure these people are locked up and deported,' Blakeman told The Post. 'We don't want illegal immigrants roaming around our community committing crimes. We don't want them in our community.'
