An appeals court denied staffing industry groups’ request for a preliminary injunction against New Jersey’s Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights law that covers industrial temporary workers.

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit agreed with a district court that the staffing associations did not show they were likely to succeed on their claims, according to court records.

New Jersey’s law adds several regulations, including a requirement of equal pay between temporary workers and directly employed workers. Business groups have cited the requirement as being particularly burdensome. The equal pay calculation is based on the average rate of pay and average cost of benefits for directly employed workers.

“The legislative winners here are New Jersey’s temporary workers, and the losers are New Jersey staffing firms,” according to the opinion.

The lawsuit was first filed in May 2023 by the New Jersey Staffing Alliance, the American Staffing Association and the New Jersey Business and Industry Association.

An attorney for the staffing firms has been contacted for more information.