P.O.W.E.R. Applauds California Senate Passage of SB 1032, the SAFE Act

Landmark legislation advances effort to stop fraud, bring accountability, transparency, and worker protection to California’s temporary staffing industry

SACRAMENTO, CA, UNITED STATES, May 28, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- P.O.W.E.R. (Partnership Organization for Workplace Ethics and Reform) today applauded the passage of SB 1032, the Staffing Agency Fair Employment Act (SAFE Act), off the California Senate floor, calling the vote a major step forward in protecting workers, honest employers, and taxpayers from fraud and abuse within California’s temporary staffing marketplace.

Authored by Eloise Gómez Reyes, SB 1032 would establish a statewide registration and verification framework for staffing agencies operating in California, including, by statute, defining what constitutes a staffing agency; requirements for verified workers’ compensation coverage, ownership disclosure, annual registration, and surety bonding; and enforcement authority against unlawful operators.

“This is a historic moment for California workers and for every legitimate staffing company trying to compete fairly,” said Robert Reid, Executive Director of P.O.W.E.R. “For too long, bad actors have exploited gaps in oversight to evade workers’ compensation requirements, and operate through shell entities that leave injured workers, taxpayers, and honest businesses holding the bag. SB 1032 begins to change that. POWER encourages California staffing agencies that are not already part of this effort to join us in helping to propel this legislation forward.”

California operates one of the largest temporary staffing markets in the nation, yet lacks a comprehensive statewide registration and verification system for staffing agencies. Supporters of the SAFE Act argue that the absence of front-end oversight has enabled fraudulent operators to gain unfair competitive advantages while shifting costs onto compliant employers and public systems.

Among its key provisions, SB 1032 would:
• Require staffing agencies to register annually with the Labor Commissioner before operating in California;
• Mandate verified proof of active workers’ compensation coverage;
• Establish financial disclosure and surety bond requirements;
• Create a public registry of compliant staffing agencies;
• Define in statute what constitutes a staffing agency;
• Authorize stop-work actions against uninsured operators; and
• Prohibit businesses from knowingly using unregistered staffing agencies.

P.O.W.E.R., which has advocated extensively for reforms targeting fraud and abuse in the staffing industry, credited a growing coalition of lawmakers, labor organizations, ethical staffing firms, and worker advocates for helping advance the legislation.

“We are grateful to Senator Reyes for her leadership and to the growing number of organizations and stakeholders who recognize that oversight should exist before harm occurs,” Reid added. “This bill is about restoring integrity to the marketplace and protecting the workers who too often become invisible victims of fraudulent labor schemes.”

The legislation now moves to the California State Assembly for consideration.

For more information about SB 1032 and the SAFE Act, visit the SAFE Act Information Page.

Dan Kramer
POWER
+1 803-715-1421
dan@poweraction.org
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