Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick earlier this week put his signature to a new bill, ‘An Act Establishing a Temporary Worker’s Right to Know’, which he says will “level the playing field for all of our businesses while fulfilling our responsibility to make sure all of our workers are being treated fairly”.

Patrick says: “Thousands of Massachusetts workers are sent off to work by staffing agencies without any idea of where they are going, what work they will do and what they will be paid.”

The new legislation means staffing agencies must provide workers with basic information including rate of pay and any deductions made for travel, for example, before they head to a job. Also, if a worker arrives on site and there is no work available, they must be reimbursed.

It also prohibits agencies from charging fees such as a cost for jobseekers of registering with the agency or performing a criminal record check, or anything that would bring their wage below the state minimum wage of $8 (£5.13) per hour.