Misclassification of Independent Contractors, Contractor Wage Payment Enforcement, and Apprenticeship Bills Passed from the Senate Labor Committee.

The Senate Labor Committee released three pro-labor bills today.  We are thankful to Chairman Fred Madden (D-4) for posting the bills for consideration and to the sponsors for their leadership.

S-4204 (Sweeney): Similar to recently enacted AB-5 in California, the bill seeks to apply the “ABC test” to almost all industries in the state to determine if workers are employees or independent contractors.  New Jersey loses millions of dollars every year in state income tax, unemployment insurance contributions and other revenues due to the “misclassification” of workers.  The New Jersey State AFL-CIO strongly supports the bill which is a “win-win” for workers and the state.  The bill was released with all three Democrats, Senators Madden (D-4), Lagana (D-38) & Beach (D-5) voting “Yes.”  Republican Anthony Bucco (R-25) voted against the bill.

S-4167 (Madden / Sweeney): The bill seeks to establish safety and apprenticeship standards in certain industries. The New Jersey State AFL-CIO and the Boilermakers Union strongly support the bill. It was released 3-0-1, with Senators Madden (D-4), Lagana (D-38) & Beach (D-5) voting “Yes.”  Republican Anthony Bucco (R-25) abstained.

S-4064 (Singleton / Sweeney): The legislation seeks to ensure the full payment to employees as required by law by enhancing remedies in the case of an illegal failure to provide compensation to employees.  The bill is supported by the New Jersey State AFL-CIO and the New Jersey Building and Construction Trades Council.  It was released unanimously by a 4-0 vote.

The New Jersey State AFL-CIO thanks all of the affiliated unions that worked together to pass these bills out of committee today.