“What are you—blind?”
“That’s a foul!”
“Aw c’mon, ref, give us a break!”
The men and women who officiate amateur sports in New Jersey certainly don’t have it easy. These days, after-school Little League games can get as heated as Game 7 of the World Series, especially when a bad call gives one team an unfair advantage.
Here in New Jersey, we’re seeing similar objections to a widely opposed Department of Labor rule set to take effect in just 15 days.
The rule lets the NJDOL use its own interpretation of the law—one of the strictest applications of labor policy in the U.S.—to determine who is or isn’t self-employed, without revealing all of the factors they will use to make that decision. How can anyone be certain of the rules if there are pages missing from the rulebook?
Earlier this week, amateur sports officials showed up in Trenton seeking an exemption from the rule under Assembly Bill 4735, testifying that New Jersey’s interpretation is so out-of-bounds from the norm, we’d be the first state in the nation to call them employees.
And they’re not the only ones crying foul: The controversial rule elicited more than 9,500 comments from the public, with more than 99% opposed. Independent contractors from a wide range of industries spoke of the flexibility they enjoy as self-employed workers, the ability to set their own schedules, and choosing to make a living on their own terms, all of which is in jeopardy under the new rule. A standing-room-only public hearing brought even more opposition, with testimony from some of the 1.7 million independent contractors whose livelihoods are being threatened. People in the crosshairs include nurses, journalists, teachers, artists, emergency road service providers, and truckers who keep our regional supply chain moving.
Despite bipartisan pleas from State legislators urging Governor Sherrill to delay the rule’s October 1 effective date so they can address mounting concerns, she hasn’t made that call yet.
It’s important that Sherrill gets this call right. When a similar measure passed in California, legislators there scrambled to exempt more than 100 professions in an attempt to save people’s incomes and careers, but even that wasn’t enough. In the years that followed, California experienced a decline in jobs for all workers—employees and independent contractors alike.
Rather than learning from those mistakes, New Jersey is following the same misguided playbook as the clock runs out, fast-tracking bills that protect only a chosen few. On deck in Trenton this Thursday: another carve-out bill, A-1511, this one to exempt insurance agents and financial advisors.
This rush to save precious few workers while ignoring almost all others begs the question: With hundreds of industries poised to feel the harmful effects of the NJDOL rule, is saving the side gig of an umpire or wealth manager really more urgent than keeping hospitals staffed and ensuring food gets delivered to grocery stores?
The very existence of these carve-out bills proves the NJDOL rule goes too far, hurting innocent people under the guise of protecting them. No business can afford to risk the steep penalties the state can assess under this rule, and there’s broad uncertainty over how businesses can even possibly comply. New Jersey’s estimated 1.7 million independent contractors may be forced to either give up self-employment or move to a different state where their freedom to earn a living is not under attack.
Of course, it’s not just independent contractors who will feel the pain if the rule takes effect. Even companies that manage to persuade independent contractors to trade self-employment freedom for a boss will see their expenses rise, and those increased costs will inevitably be passed on to all New Jerseyans, making the Garden State even less affordable.
Yogi Berra—a 64-year resident of New Jersey—famously said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” There is still time for Governor Sherrill to step up to the plate and delay the NJDOL rule so the Legislature can make adjustments that will protect all independent contractors, not just a select few MVPs.
Taking the time to heed widespread public outcry and giving us all equal protection under our laws shouldn’t be a tough call. If this rule takes effect on October 1, everybody loses.
Lisa Yakomin is President of the Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers, a nonprofit trade association representing the trucking industry at the Port of NY & NJ. She has also been happily self-employed as a freelance writer for more than 40 years.
