NJBIA President and CEO Michele Siekerka issued the following statement Tuesday regarding legislation announced by District 13 Senator Declan O'Scanlon, Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger and Assemblywoman Vicky Flynn that would nullify a state Department of Labor rule proposal to drasically reduce the number of independent contractors in New Jersey because it is inconsistent with legislative intent. NJDOL’s proposal greatly alters the conditions of ABC test used to determine an independent worker, reducing the economic opportunities and freedoms for those workers, as well as adding great costs to business. Prior to today’s announcement, 21 legislators from both sides of the aisle had urged NJDOL to pull the rule during the comment period.
“NJBIA thanks our responsive lawmakers for announcing this much-needed resolution, which we will fully support when it is formally introduced.
“NJBIA has been working closely with businesses, as well as independent contractor advocates, to ensure that this misguided proposal does not go forward. We thank the greater business community for allowing their impassioned voices to be heard through constant communications with their legislators.
“We look forward to seeing continuing bipartisan support for this effort from common-sense legislators who had already joined us in urging that NJDOL pull this damaging proposal in the first place. We extended our gratitude to those lawmakers from both sides of the aisle for their leadership, their understanding of the consequences of the proposal, and for hearing the concerns of New Jersey’s business community and independent workers.
“As we have stated since May, NJDOL’s proposal is not merely a codification of current ABC rules – it’s a complete overhaul of the regulations that will drastically reduce the flexibility and economy of independent contractors and greatly add to the costs and efficiencies of New Jersey businesses.
“To address worker misclassification, we continue to urge the Department to engage in a more transparent, balanced, and evidence-driven process that supports both worker protections and economic freedom.”
