US · Compliance
What is a staffing assignment agreement?
What the worker assignment document should confirm: role, rate, hours, location, supervisor, safety, pay and the end of assignment.
The short answer
A staffing assignment agreement records the specific placement between the agency, worker and client: role, location, start date, expected hours, pay rate, overtime, supervisor, expenses, safety process, confidentiality, timesheets and how the assignment can end. It sits underneath the client master terms and prevents a verbal change becoming a payroll or compliance dispute.
Key facts
- Sits beneath
- The client master services agreement
- Must match
- The offer, timesheet, payroll and invoice
- Change control
- New role, site, rate or hours needs written confirmation
The master agreement sets the relationship; the assignment agreement makes it real for one worker. Without the second document, a change in site, shift or duties can be passed between client and worker without anyone agreeing its effect on pay, safety or insurance.
Include the details payroll needs: pay rate, overtime treatment, pay frequency, holiday or leave treatment where applicable, expected hours and the timesheet approver. If the client changes the schedule, the record should change with it.
Include the details safety needs: worksite, supervisor, equipment, required training, incident contact and who can stop work. The agency may employ the worker, but the client controls the day-to-day environment.
Use an e-signature workflow and keep the signed version with the assignment record. A worker should be able to see their current terms, and a client should be able to verify the same version when a dispute arrives.
Review the document whenever the assignment changes materially. Extending a date is not always a clerical update; a new role or worksite can change wage, licensing, classification and insurance requirements.
United States
How this differs by US state and metro
The answer above holds nationally. What changes locally is registration, insurance, wage rules and how much cash each contractor consumes — these are the states and metros founders ask us about most.
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia · Pittsburgh · Allentown
Local earned income tax and, in Philadelphia, the city wage tax must be withheld correctly from the first payroll
Pennsylvania guideNorth Carolina
Charlotte · Raleigh–Durham · Greensboro
Research Triangle clients run longer contract assignments, which is good for margin stability and heavy on working capital
North Carolina guideSouth Carolina
Charleston · Greenville · Columbia
Manufacturing clients demand safety records, site inductions and often drug screening programmes
South Carolina guideNew York
New York City · Brooklyn · Long Island
New York wage notice and pay statement rules are strict and enforced — get pay stubs and notices right from the first contractor
New York guideMetro-level wage, bill rate and startup cost detail:
Local questions
Does this change if I start in Pennsylvania?
The national answer holds. What changes in Pennsylvania is local: Local earned income tax and, in Philadelphia, the city wage tax must be withheld correctly from the first payroll Check the Pennsylvania page before you register anything, and model the cash gap on Pennsylvania pay rates rather than national averages.
Is the answer different in North Carolina than in Pennsylvania?
The economics are the same shape; the local detail is not. In North Carolina: Research Triangle clients run longer contract assignments, which is good for margin stability and heavy on working capital That affects your registration checklist and your working capital number, not the underlying principle.
Which US cities does this apply to?
All of them — but we publish metro-level bill rate, wage and startup cost detail for Charleston, Greenville, New York City, Buffalo and more, because pay rates and buyer mix vary far more between metros than between states.
Do I need a separate licence in every state I place in?
You register where you have employees and where you do business, not once nationally. Most states require unemployment insurance and withholding registration plus workers' compensation cover; a minority licence employment agencies, and some cities — New York City among them — licence separately from the state. Confirm each state and city before your first placement there.
Sources
General information for recruitment and staffing founders, not legal, tax or accounting advice.
Go deeper
How to start a staffing agency in the US
A step-by-step guide to starting a US staffing agency: entity and insurance, working capital for payroll, first niche, margin maths and the funding route that fits.
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