NJBIA Policy Analyst Jack Kelly recently joined NJ101.5’s Eric Scott on “Jersey Thing” to discuss how the state’s new independent contractor rules that go into effect Oct. 1 are going to impact freelance and gig work and why implementation should be delayed for further study.
An estimated 1.7 million jobs could be affected by the pending change, prompting recent efforts by the Legislature to carve-out specific professions ranging from youth sports umpires to insurance and securities professionals. None of these bills have been enacted into law.
Scott asked Kelly whether the impetus for the Department of Labor rule change was the belief that turning independent contractors into employees would grow the ranks of organized labor.
“There hasn’t been a one-to-one conversion from an independent contractor to W-2 employment anywhere that the ABC test has been implemented,” Kelly said. “The people calling us aren’t asking for permission to misclassify workers. They’re asking if they continue operating as independent businesses or whether they need to move out of state.”
Kelly said that if the rule takes effect Oct. 1, New Jersey can expect to see a 10% drop in self-employment, and it will be the “politically powerless folks” unable to lobby for carveout legislation that will be left behind.
Senate President Nick Scutari and other legislators have already written to Gov. Mikie Sherrill asking for the rule’s implementation to be delayed so that further study can be made. NJBIA, which has staunchly opposed the rule, has an online form that freelance workers, businesses and consumers can use to ask state policymakers to pause the rule for further review.
“Give us nine months,” Kelly said. "We will form a balanced task force of labor, business, independent contractors to get to the bottom of what exactly these rules serve purpose-wise and how do we crack down on genuine misclassification without pulling in legitimate businesses into the scope of these."
