‼️Nobody needed a Magic 8 Ball to see this coming, and now New Jersey is following its idiot cousin on the west coast, right on cue.
The
@GovMurphy administration started this mess in spite of more than 9,500 submitted comments that opposed it. Freelancers, businesses &
@NJAssemblyGOP warned what would happen. Then the “business-friendly”
@GovSherrillNJ let it proceed. And now, right on schedule, THE CARVE-OUTS HAVE BEGUN.
Yesterday, Asm. Anthony Angelozzi (D) advocated for A4735, a special exemption (AKA carve-out) for amateur sports officials & testified specifically about HIS OWN WIFE, who works as a sports official, and why she needs the flexibility of independent- contractor status.
Here's the thing: HE'S RIGHT. His wife deserves that flexibility. SO DOES EVERYBODY ELSE'S WIFE. Nice to be married to a legislator in the Majority and get yourself a sweet little carve-out while freelance writers, photographers, translators, musicians, consultants, working moms & small-business owners are left to wither under the same rule.
Way to go,
@njassemblydems. First you bungle school funding year after year and rip away extracurriculars, including sports & transportation. Now your ABC Test disaster is hamstringing the referees.
TWO THINGS CAN BE TRUE: Workers MUST be protected from companies deliberately misclassifying employees to dodge wages, benefits, taxes, workers' comp & other protections AND legitimate independent contractors MUST be protected from a government rule so broad that Trenton immediately has to start deciding which professions deserve to escape it.
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE WARNED ABOUT. California did this, and then came carve-out after carve-out. Now we're watching the same completely predictable AND ENTIRELY PREVENTABLE script play out here.
We told you so. Over and over. Stop carving out the connected few and FIX THE RULE FOR EVERYONE.
RECEIPTS:
NJBIA — Latest Independent Contractor Carve-Out Bill Highlights Fatal Flaws of New ABC Test:
njbia.org/njbia-latest-indep…
NJBIA — Full Written Testimony on A4735:
njbia.org/advocacy/ga/njbia-…
NJBIA — Campaign to Delay Implementation of NJ's Independent Contractor Rule:
njbia.org/njbia-launches-cam…
NJBIA — How ABC Rule Risks Putting NJ at Another Competitive Disadvantage:
njbia.org/how-abc-rule-risks…
NJ .com — Fewer refs, higher costs? New N.J. rules put youth sports system at risk:
nj.com/sports/2026/09/fewer-…
New Jersey Monitor — Amateur Sports the Latest Frontier in NJ Independent Contractor Fight:
newjerseymonitor.com/2026/09…
NJDOL — Official ABC Test Regulation Adoption:
nj.gov/labor/lwdhome/press/2…
@thekimkavin
@NJBIA
@NJDOLCommish