New House Bill Offers Protections for Freelancers, But Action in New Jersey Could Threaten Writers There
If you haven’t been following recent developments that could affect freelancers, there’s been activity at both the federal and state levels—and not all of it is good.
At the federal level, a House bill that would protect the ability of freelancers and other independent contractors to remain in business was introduced in February. At the state level, New Jersey’s labor department proposed a new rule that threatens independent contractors of all kinds, including freelancers. And in California, a group of nail salons and manicurists sued over AB5, the state’s independent contractor law, claiming it discriminates against women and based on ethnicity.
The Modern Worker Empowerment Act
Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-CA, sponsored the Modern Worker Empowerment Act, which as currently written, is specific to federal labor and employment law. The bill would protect freelancers from federal legislation such as the PRO Act, which would spread California’s type of anti-freelancer regulation nationwide. The bill also would protect freelancers from executive branch rule-making, such as the U.S. Labor Department independent contractor rule that the co-founders of Fight For Freelancers filed a federal lawsuit over last year. That lawsuit, along with several similar lawsuits, were recently put on hold as the plaintiffs await more action in Washington.
Kiley started his political career in California’s state assembly, where he fought tirelessly to protect freelancers from AB5—which ASJA called “potentially career-ending legislation” in its 2019 suit against the state. Kiley continues to fight for freelancers at the federal level. As he said when he introduced the Modern Worker Empowerment Act: “California’s disastrous AB 5 law wreaked havoc on independent workers, stripping them of their ability to work on their own terms and forcing businesses to cut off contractor relationships. Shifting federal regulations threaten to impose similar uncertainty nationwide, putting millions of workers at risk.”
On May 20, I testified before Congress for the second time in two years about why lawmakers need to protect independent contractors nationwide, including freelance writers. After the hearing, I spent the afternoon in private, back-to-back meetings with members of Congress and their aides, discussing strategy to advance the bill in coming months. The hope is that the committee will schedule a vote on the bill soon, after which it would move to a vote of the full House of Representatives.
To keep up with developments about the bill—including knowing when to call your own Congressional representative to ask for support—join the Fight For Freelancers group on Facebook or follow me on X.
Meanwhile in New Jersey, A New Threat to Freelancers
Expected federal help will not protect freelancers in New Jersey, where I live. In late April, the state’s Department of Labor proposed a significant new rule that would affect independent contractors.
According to multiple law firms that specialize in labor and employment law, the proposed rule would be even worse than California’s AB5. Notably, in California, freelance writers and numerous other types of independent contractors (ICs) ultimately gained exemptions from AB5 so they could keep working with their clients. New Jersey’s proposed rule contains no such exemptions.
One leading attorney wrote that the proposed rule “departs in a dramatic manner from virtually every other test for IC status under federal law and the laws in every state — and unless clarified in the final version of the regulation, would not merely tilt the balance in favor of employee status and against legitimate ICs but rather lead to the elimination of all ICs in New Jersey.”
Another firm wrote that what’s being proposed would “far exceed” current norms. A third firm wrote that NJDOL’s proposal “could make it very difficult for businesses to demonstrate that workers are independent contractors .” A fourth firm wrote that what NJDOL is proposing appears to expand beyond common law and independent contractor regulatory language.
A public hearing on the proposed rule is scheduled for June 23 in Trenton. The hearing is expected to be packed with people who oppose the rule, and multiple coalitions that I’m regularly in touch with are coordinating to fight, from Trenton and Washington, D.C.
Public comments, including comments opposing the bill, are due by Aug. 6.
Freelancers can request to speak at the public hearing or submit comments opposing the New Jersey rule by emailing david.fish@dol.nj.gov.
And in California, New Activity Related to AB5
On May 31, a group of California nail salons and technicians sued the state over AB5. As reported by Bloomberg Law, the lawsuit claims that the state’s AB5 law is blatantly discriminatory, effectively targeting Vietnamese Americans who make up 82% of the state’s manicurists and pedicurists, and the 85% of nail technicians who are women.
The lawsuit comes about two months after California Assemblyman Tri Ta, who is Vietnamese American, called on the U.S. Justice Department to investigate “discrimination” regarding AB5, and the nail and manicurist industry specifically. “Every Californian who believes in justice and equality under the law should be outraged by the unfair treatment of Vietnamese Americans working in the beauty industry,” Ta said, according to The Event News Enterprise. “We cannot wait for politicians in Sacramento to fix this issue, that’s why I’ve called on the U.S. Justice Department to intervene.”
The development follows a December report by members of the California Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. Their report states “the Commission should further study the disproportionate impact of labor laws like AB5 on minorities.”
(Editor’s note: Kim Kavin shares more about her work protecting freelancers’ rights and co-founding Fight For Freelance in a Meet the Member profile published in November 2024—read it here.)
Kim Kavin is a longtime ASJA member who has been a professional freelance writer and editor since 2003. She co-founded the nonpartisan grassroots advocacy group Fight For Freelancers in 2019, and was awarded ASJA’s Exceptional Service Award in 2021 for fighting against AB5 and the PRO Act. On Substack, she writes the Freelance Busting newsletter. She’s working on a book about this policy problem.