{"id":2469660,"date":"2025-08-01T13:19:56","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T17:19:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/proposed-nj-regulations-would-impact-up-to-1-7-million-self-employed-workers-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T13:23:19","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T17:23:19","slug":"proposed-nj-regulations-would-impact-up-to-1-7-million-self-employed-workers-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/proposed-nj-regulations-would-impact-up-to-1-7-million-self-employed-workers-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Proposed NJ regulations would impact up to 1.7 million self-employed workers &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fproposed-nj-regulations-would-impact-up-to-1-7-million-self-employed-workers-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2469660&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The proposed regulations in New Jersey aim to reinterpret the stateS ABC test for classifying workers, potentially affecting up to 1.7 million self-reliant contractors. This move would force many freelancers, gig workers, and self-employed individuals to lose their independent status and be reclassified as employees, similar to what happened in California with Assembly Bill 5 (AB5). Critics, including Patrice Onwuka of the Independent Women&#8217;s center for Economic Chance, argue that the new rules introduce complexity and uncertainty rather than clarity.The change threatens flexible <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nyc-mayor-adams-fails-to-keep-promises-to-citys-businesses\/\" title=\"NYC Mayor Adams Fails to Keep Promises to City\u2019s Businesses\">work arrangements<\/a> that benefit many, especially women who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/female-entrepreneurs-rip-dems-over-labor-bill\/\" title=\"Female Entrepreneurs Rip Dems Over Labor Bill\">balance work<\/a> with caregiving and other responsibilities. The regulations are seen as an effort to increase unionization by moving workers into customary 9-to-5 jobs. opponents urge New Jersey residents to oppose the rule during the public comment period ending August 6, emphasizing the importance of preserving worker freedom to choose their work arrangements.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Proposed NJ regulations would impact up to 1.7 million self-employed workers<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2191816\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square) &ndash; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-jersey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">New Jersey<\/a> may soon follow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/california\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">California&rsquo;s<\/a> lead in a reinterpretation of its ABC test that would force as many as 1.7 million independent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/contractor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">contractors<\/a> to lose their self-employed status while increasing the amount of workers that can be &ldquo;unionized.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Director of Independent Women&rsquo;s Center for Economic Opportunity Patrice Onwuka told The Center Square that &ldquo;New Jersey is proposing to alter its employment test that determines whether a worker is an employee or an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/we-caught-them-lin-wood-outed-mysterious-georgia-operative-gabe-sterling-now-video-shows-him-admitting-he-helped-set-up-drop-boxes-and-promoted-far-left-activists-as-absentee-ballot-counters\/\" title=\"WE CAUGHT THEM: Lin Wood Outed Mysterious Georgia Operative Gabe Sterling - Now Video Shows Him Admitting He Helped Set Up Drop Boxes and Promoted Far Left Activists as Absentee Ballot Counters\">independent contractor<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3488466\/trump-fed-board-assume-control-if-powell-refuses-to-lower-interest-rates-again\/\">Trump calls on Fed board to assume control if Powell refuses to lower interest rates again<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3488490\/biden-speech-trump-dark-days\/\">Joe Biden&nbsp;paints&nbsp;Trump administration&nbsp;as doom and gloom: &lsquo;Dark days&rsquo;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3488481\/gavin-newsom-november-special-elections-approve-congressional-maps\/\">Newsom to call November special elections to approve new congressional maps<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Onwuka said that &ldquo;instead of greater clarity, simplicity, and certainty, the NJ Department of Labor is introducing new uncertainty, confusion, and complexity&rdquo; with this ABC test.<\/p>\n<p>The ABC test would go from three one-sentence factors that must be met to prove independent contractor status to three factors each burdened by numerous sub-factors or, as shown in an Independent Women&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.iwf.org\/2025\/06\/03\/new-jersey-copycats-california\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>New Jersey&rsquo;s &ldquo;proposed interpretation creates new hurdles for freelancers, self-employed people, and gig workers to keep their independent status,&rdquo; Onwuka told The Center Square.<\/p>\n<p>According to Independent Women&rsquo;s news release, as many as 1.7 million New Jersey &ldquo;freelancers, entrepreneurs, and gig workers&rdquo; will have to &ldquo;abandon self-employment.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is another mass reclassification effort to force people out of preferred flexible work into traditional 9-to-5 jobs, which are unionizable,&rdquo; Onwuka said.<\/p>\n<p>Onwuka told The Center Square that New Jersey is &ldquo;copycatting&rdquo; the same issue that took place in California a few years ago and &ldquo;will reap California&rsquo;s disastrous results.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In 2019, the California legislature passed Assembly Bill 5 (AB5), which codified a stringent ABC test,&rdquo; Onwuka said. &ldquo;Instead of businesses hiring their reclassified contractors, freelancers lost income, contracts, and livelihoods for freelancers in over 600 occupations.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Self-employment fell by 10.5%, and overall employment fell by 4.4%, according to research by the Mercatus Center,&rdquo; Onwuka said.<\/p>\n<p>From unemployed&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.iwfeatures.com\/documentary\/ab5-sends-santa-claus-to-the-unemployment-line\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Santa Clauses<\/a>&nbsp;to small business owners &ldquo;who hired other stay-at-home moms&rdquo; seeing their businesses&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.iwfeatures.com\/documentary\/a-florist-and-cancer-survivor-is-forced-to-shutter-her-business-due-to-ab5\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">threatened<\/a>, AB5 took its toll on the Golden State,&rdquo; Onwuka said.<\/p>\n<p>Similar legislation failed in New Jersey in 2019, so that &ldquo;what policymakers could not enact through the law, they&rsquo;re now seeking to advance through regulation,&rdquo; according to the Independent Women news release.<\/p>\n<p>Onwuka stressed specifically to The Center Square the effect New Jersey&rsquo;s ABC test changes would have on women.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Women are going to be harmed by <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >losing flexible options<\/a> that allow them to stay attached to the workforce while balancing other priorities,&rdquo; Onwuka said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Close to half of the over 70 million freelancers in this country are female,&rdquo; Onwuka said. &ldquo;Women balance earning income while raising children, caregiving for aging parents, managing their own health issues, and pursuing education.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>For many women, it is &ldquo;impossible to work on a 9-to-5 schedule or on-site in a workplace,&rdquo; Onwuka said.<\/p>\n<p>Onwuka said that &ldquo;if women in New Jersey are no longer classified as independent contractors through their small businesses and gigs, many will stop working altogether, creating new challenges and burdens for the state.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>When asked what can be done to stop the finalization of New Jersey&rsquo;s proposed changes, Onwuka said that the state&rsquo;s Department of Labor &ldquo;must hear from New Jersey residents that they oppose this rule, and it should be withdrawn.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The 60-day commenting period for the regulation ends on August 6, according to Onwuka.<\/p>\n<p>Onwuka informed The Center Square that Independent Women&rsquo;s Voice also has an&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/iwnetwork.com\/actions\/savecontractorsinnj\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">action center<\/a>&nbsp;where New Jerseyans &ldquo;can submit comments and add their own personal stories of being an independent contractor.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In the end, Onwuka told The Center Square that &ldquo;no one should be forced into a 9-to-5 job.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Policymakers and activists on the left believe that traditional jobs are the only good jobs,&rdquo; Onwuka said.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/3487220\/democratic-party-gerrymandering-texas-republican-map\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">FOUR OF THE TOP FIVE MOST GERRYMANDERED STATES ARE CONTROLLED BY DEMOCRATS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Reclassification&rdquo; such as what New Jersey is doing &ldquo;is an effort to get more people into traditional jobs to expand the pool of workers that can be unionized,&rdquo; Onwuka said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Americans deserve the freedom to choose when, where, how, and for whom to work,&rdquo; Onwuka said. &ldquo;This is worker freedom.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2191816\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2191816\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NJ rules could reclassify 1.7M self-employed workers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2469661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/uber-new-york-stocks-scaled-1024x683.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[58934,33096,5565,60429],"class_list":["post-2469660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-labor-law","tag-new-jersey","tag-regulations","tag-self-employed"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/uber-new-york-stocks-scaled-1024x683.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2469660"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469660\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2469664,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469660\/revisions\/2469664"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2469661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2469660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2469660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2469660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}