The New Jersey’s Department of Labor & Workforce Development is preparing to release nearly 1,200 additional comments opposing its proposed rule that will drastically reduce the number of independent contractors in the state, according to Fight the Freelancers co-founder Kim Kavin in her Freelance Busting Substack post today.
The additional 1,192 comments opposing the controversial proposal were submitted by New York Life in May and June in a call-to-action campaign with employees and agents. But they were not present when NJDOL released the comments on Sept. 4 – likely the result of an email glitch.
New York Life’s feedback is in addition to the estimated 8,300 public comments NJDOL had already released on Sept. 4, of which more than 99% were already in opposition or showing serious concerns about the rule.
“The Department’s response to these missing emails was both professional and collaborative,” a New York Life spokesperson told Kavin. “We do not assume any ill intent. We appreciate the Department’s prompt and courteous cooperation in resolving the issue and ensuring that the comments of our New Jersey workforce will be considered.”
NJBIA has repeatedly called for NJDOL to drop the rule proposal based on the damage they will do to freelance workers and employers, as evidenced by a similar 2019 law in California, as well as the massive negative response to the proposal from stakeholders and legislators from both sides of the aisle.
Neither Gov. Phil Murphy nor...
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