Congressman Norcross Leads 47 Democrats, Including NJ Representatives McIver and Menendez, in Standing Up for Workers on Independent Contractor Rules
At the state level, New Jersey recently enacted positive regulations on the same topic, but the business community is seeking to undo the progress to increase profits at the expense of workers
Democrats in Congress are fighting President Trump’s efforts to weaken rules ensuring workers are properly classified so they aren’t exploited by businesses seeking to enhance profits on the backs of workers.
The New Jersey State AFL-CIO applauds our union brother and Labor Caucus Co-Chair, Congressman Donald Norcross (CD-1) (IBEW 351,) for leading 47 House Democrats in a letter urging Acting Secretary of Labor Sonderling to “maintain the strong 2024 independent contractor standard under the FLSA and rescind the proposed rule weakening this standard.” A full copy of the letter can be found here.
Here in New Jersey, organized labor continues to advocate for strong independent contractor standards for workers and urges legislators to stand with them in the fight.
The state level regulations (NJAC 12:11: ABC test) were adopted on May 5, 2026. The Senate Labor Committee is holding a hearing on May 11, to give opponents of the regulation an opportunity to further lobby against them in an attempt to repeal or amend them.
At both the federal and state levels, working people need our elected officials to end the large scale, systemic misclassification of workers that strips away worker eligibility for numerous benefits, including unemployment insurance, overtime, minimum wage, paid sick days, paid family leave, worker compensation, temporary disability, overtime, access to employer provided health insurance and pensions, among others. And because independent contractors are outside the NLRA, these workers have their right to join a union stripped away from them.
Furthermore, the state loses a significant amount of payroll taxes due to misclassification because employers are not required to pay these taxes on independent contractors. Misclassification also places legitimate businesses at a competitive disadvantage in the bidding process because labor costs are significantly reduced for the companies that intentionally misclassify their workers as independent contractors rather than as employees.
Thank you to Congress members Norcross, McIver and Menedez and the Sherrill Administration for supporting workers on this important issue.