In an op-ed running in USA Today this week, Director of the Center for Economic Opportunity at the Independent Women's Forum Patrice Onwuka said New Jersey’s aim to rewrite the rules determining independent workers in the state would be “disastrous,” particularly for women workers.
Onwuka said government data “is not fully capturing the ways that women balance work and motherhood.”
“Somewhere between stay-at-home moms and ladder climbers are freelancers,” Onwuka said. “From full-time self-employment to side hustles and gig work, an estimated 73 million people earn incomes outside of traditional work.
“However, U.S. employment data undercounts flexible workers by millions.”
Onwuka also said many women need freelance or independent contractor work to balance the need for flexible income while raising a family.
“Nine out of 10 female workers who shifted from full-time employment to independent contract work said they did so to prioritize flexibility over stability,” she said.
Currently, the New Jersey Department of Labor is considering a rule proposal to codify the test for independent contractor classification that would greatly reduce the number of independent contractors in the state.
Thus far, 22 New Jersey legislators have asked NJDOL to pull back the rule, as have NJBIA and other business groups and a host of freelance support groups.
New Jersey’s proposal mirrors California’s AB5 in 2019, which Onwuka deemed “foolish reclassification.” She cited data from AB5 that “destroyed the livelihoods of 10.5% of self-employed Californians and plunged overall employment by 4.4% across over 600 occupations, according to Freelancers Against AB5.”
“Entire professions dominated by women, such as transcribers, were wiped out,” Onwuka said. “Now, other states like New Jersey are copycatting these policies. This is a disastrous labor policy, especially for women.”
To read Onwuka’s full op-ed click here.
