Massachusetts Law Limits Transportation Fees Charged to Temporary Workers

IMMIGRANTS & EMPLOYMENT

Immigrants' Employment Rights and Remedies

MASSACHUSETTS LAW LIMITS TRANSPORTATION FEES CHARGED TO TEMPORARY WORKERS
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 16, No. 2, April 12, 2002

A law that limits the amount of fees that temporary employees may be charged for transportation to and from the places where they are temporarily employed was enacted recently in Massachusetts.

The new law states that a "staffing agency" or employer that offers temporary workers transportation to the work site for a certain fee can charge only the actual transportation cost or three percent of that worker's daily wages, whichever is less. Moreover, such a fee may not reduce the worker's daily wages below the minimum wage. Most importantly, if the agency, work site employer, or anyone working for either the agency or work site employer require a worker to use the transportation services, the new law prohibits them from charging any fee. Finally, the law requires a staffing agency or work site employer or anyone acting on their behalf to obtain written authorization from a worker before deducting any transportation fees from his or her wages. The worker must be provided a copy of the signed authorization, which must be in a language the worker understands. Any person who violates the new law is subject to civil fines.

It is common practice to require temporary workers, many of whom are immigrants who work for low wages, to pay a transportation fee as high as $15 per day. Massachusetts' Acting Governor Jane Swift signed the new law, which amends section 27C of chapter 149 of the Massachusetts General Laws, on Feb. 13, 2002.