Reply #4: Interesting. And sadly plausible.

[SheilaT]

Some companies are happy to use long-term temps to keep from paying benefits, even though the temp agency gets as much as half of the money the company pays to the temp agency. I understand that Microsoft was infamous for hiring temps, long term temps especially, for years. Don't know if they still do.

I'm under the vague impression that there are actually laws in effect that are intended to reduce the long-term temp thing, but aren't generally enforced. And I might well be wrong, and that there are no such laws.

I do know that laws about independent contractors are enforceable, but that's not what you're talking about.