While the New Jersey Department of Labor’s rule proposal to greatly reduce the number of independent contractors took a major hit this week, NJBIA President and CEO Michele Siekerka said at its core, the state proposal is tone deaf to today’s workforce.
In an interview with NJ101.5 top-rated morning host Eric Scott this morning, Siekerka said “more people are becoming gig workers because they want and need the flexibility in their work schedule.”
“And let’s just take a little sideline here,” Siekerka told Scott. “Let’s talk about working parents who, especially since post COVID, have been looking for more of that flexibility.
“These are people who make their livelihood by having multiple companies that they work for. And you’re now going to tell these folks you have to go be employed by a company?
“And the reverse of this is you’ve made it absolutely impossible for companies that employ gig workers. We heard that from the businesses affected on the other side,” Siekerka said.
On Tuesday, Senator Declan O’Scanlon, Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger, and Assemblywoman Vicky Flynn (R-13) announced they will introduce legislation that would declare NJDOL’s proposal is inconsistent with legislative intent.
The legislators will post the bill upon return of the lawmakers from their summer break if NJDOL doesn’t respond to the massive public outcry opposing the bill and “rescind or satisfactorily modify their proposed rule changes.”
To date, 21 lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have already submitted comments urging the Department to pull the rule proposal.
The concurrent resolution, if passed by the Legislature, would not require the governor’s signature.
Siekerka credited Scott for taking calls for bringing attention to the issue regularly on his show, the callers who protested it, freelance worker advocates like Fight for Freelancers’ Kim Kavin and NJBIA lobbyist Elissa Frank for their collective work in protesting the proposal.
“I want to say this is a perfect example of true democracy at work,” Siekerka said. “For the last few months, constituents across the state of New Jersey who are affected by this terrible policy have taken to the phones, have taken to letters, have told their legislators that this is bad policy and it will impact their livelihood.
“And you were a big part of that on 101.5, Eric. You were taking these callers every day for weeks and months, and we thank you for that. But the best part of this is now our legislators have listened, and you took their calls too. And they came on and they said, ‘I hear you. I hear why this is their policy, and I want to ask on your behalf.’