Illinois law to strengthen protections for temp workers

For the last two decades, Brisa Chavez, of Cicero, Illinois, has found work through staffing agencies.

Like many immigrants, the single mother has been able to find work through temp agencies because they require less paperwork and less schooling than being hired by a company directly, she said.

“Unfortunately, we are also more at risk of suffering abuse in the workplace,” she said.

Chavez said she had experienced sexual harassment, wage theft and verbal abuse while doing temp work but could not afford to leave those jobs. She usually works in factories, working in packaging or running machines, and typically makes minimum wage, she said.

Now, a new law aimed at strengthening legal protections for temp workers could help Chavez and others like her