ABC Test

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There is a tripartite test for independent contractor under the New Jersey Unemployment Compensation statute (and many other States), the so-called “ABC” test.  Under this test, services performed by an individual for remuneration shall be deemed to be employment unless it is shown to the satisfaction of the Department of Labor that: (a) Such individual…

I have done a lot of independent contractor work in New Jersey, defended many such cases, from (numerous) unemployment audits to FLSA class actions. The New Jersey test, the A-B-C test, is well-established and one of the hardest for the putative employer to prevail upon. The test was, just a few years ago, reinforced by…

I have handled almost 100 unemployment insurance audits by the New Jersey DOL, where the underlying gravamen is that certain individuals are or are not independent contractors. The Auditors enforce the law very strictly and follow, in my view, an almost mechanistic approach in their determinations that virtually every 1099 person they audit is an…

I have recently blogged about new exemption regulations being proposed.  Well, that is not the only regulatory initiative coming down the pike.  The USDOL is about to release guidance on the very confusing and thorny issue of when an individual is an independent contractor.  The agency will be issuing another of its “famous” white papers…

John Ho, in the New York Labor and Employment Law Report, writes that in difficult economic times, employers may resort more to the use of so-called independent contractors, to avoid all personnel/administrative costs affiliated with bringing statutory employees on board.  I agree that this will continue to be a flashpoint in the coming year, but…