They generally do not have the right to collective bargaining, Family and Medical Leave, or unemployment insurance. Further, some employers misclassify workers as independent consultants, so they do not have to offer benefits. Temp agencies typically fail to provide their workers with an accurate description of jobs, pay scales and work schedules. Getting adequate job training, especially on machinery, is more difficult for day laborers and other temporary construction and industrial workers, putting them at higher risk of injury. Often, employers of temporary workers fail to enforce Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations because of confusion between the hiring agency and the client over the responsibility for training.
Temporary workers have difficulty getting unemployment benefits in many states.
Temporary workers are often denied unemployment benefits if they refuse to take a job offered to them by their temp firm, even if the offered assignment is for a job that is not comparable to their prior assignment and pays less. Women and people of color are disproportionately employed in contingent jobs with low wages and little or no benefits . Over two-thirds of the public believes it is unfair that contingent workers get paid lower hourly wages than regular employees doing the same work. In recent years, states have begun to enact laws addressing many of the issues faced by contingent workers. Colorado law limits temporary employment with the state government to six months.