Federal law has an answer for that arrangement: both of them can be responsible.
Who do I represent?
- Warehouse and distribution center workers placed by staffing agencies
- Manufacturing and production line temps
- Clerical and administrative contract workers
- Long-term workers on the same assignment for months or years
- Workers paid by labor brokers, crew leaders, or subcontracted staffing firms
What are the most common overtime violations in temp and staffing?
The agency and the client blaming each other. Under federal law, two companies can jointly employ the same worker. When the client company controls your schedule, supervises your work, and sets the conditions, it can owe overtime alongside the agency that cuts the check. The corporate structure does not decide who is responsible. The working relationship does.
Hours split across paychecks. Some operations divide a worker's hours between two entities, two job codes, or two pay rates so no single check shows more than 40 hours. If you worked 55 hours for what is functionally one employer, you are owed time and a half on 15 of them, no matter how the paperwork slices it.
Misclassification as independent contractors. Labor brokers in particular hand out 1099s. A warehouse temp on a 1099, working set shifts under client supervision with the client's equipment, is an employee under the economic reality test. Employees get overtime.
Unpaid orientation, training, and check-in time. Mandatory orientation at the agency, drug screens after hire, daily check-in lines before the shift. Time the employer requires is time the employer pays for.
The "temp" label doing too much work. There is no temporary employee exemption. Whether you have been on the assignment three weeks or three years, the overtime law applies the same way.
How does the law protect you?
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires time and a half for every hour over 40 in a workweek, and it makes joint employers jointly responsible. That matters practically: agencies sometimes fold or lack the resources to pay. When the client company qualifies as a joint employer, you can pursue the party that can actually satisfy a judgment.
What could your case be worth?
Back pay covers the unpaid overtime for the recoverable period, which is two years from the date you file, or three years if the violation was willful. Liquidated damages can double that amount. Staffing violations typically hit everyone on the same assignment the same way, which often makes these cases viable as group claims. The free overtime calculator on this site will give you a rough individual estimate in a few minutes.
What does it cost to bring a case?
I handle all cases on a contingency fee basis. My fee is a percentage of the recovery, agreed to in writing before the case starts. If there is no recovery, you pay nothing, not even the costs.
Contact me
If you are working overtime hours on a temp assignment and not seeing time and a half, call me. I will ask who supervises you, who sets your schedule, and how your hours show up on your check stubs. Then I will tell you whether you have a case, and against whom.
Call (512) 799-2048 or use the contact form. The consultation is free.
Doug Welmaker is a Texas-licensed plaintiff-side overtime attorney (Texas Bar No. 00788641) with more than 30 years of practice and 15 years focused exclusively on FLSA overtime cases. This page provides general legal information, not legal advice about your specific situation. No attorney-client relationship is formed by reading this page.