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- Referred to labor
- Referred to labor
Full text
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Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S21
Title of bill
An act to amend the labor law, in relation to independent contractors
Purpose
To grant the Department of Labor greater oversight over employment contracts involving independent contractors, to afford them the same compensation guarantees as traditional employees.
Summary of provisions
The labor law is amended by adding two new sections, 196 b & c. 196-b: Adds definitions for "Compensation," "Independent Contractor" and "Client," etc. 196-c: -Requires independent contractors to be compensated for their work within a reasonable amount of time, in accordance with a written agreement. -Requires work terms to be defined in a written contract and held by the client for no less than 6 years. -Empowers the Commissioner of the Department of Labor to take action to pursue violations of written agreements and recoup unpaid compensation owed to independent contractors. -Explains rights of independent contractors to file complaints about contract violations. -Provides that the Department of Labor must provide independent contractors with continuation of their filed complaints with an explanation of actions to be taken on their behalf, and detail the outcomes of actions taken on their behalf, including the amount awarded for unpaid compensation. -Sets forth penalties for violations of this section.
Justification
Since the original enactment of the labor law regulations the workforce composition of New York State has changed significantly. The modern economy has led to the rise of individual workers considered "independent contractors" or "freelancers." An independent contractor, as defined by this legislation, is a sole proprietor who is not an employee and who is hired or retained by a client for an amount equal to or greater than six hundred dollars (the threshold for which a company or person must provide a form 1099 to the u.s. Internal Revenue Service).
These people of ten participate in work alongside traditional employees, yet they are not afforded the same protections under the law as their traditionally employed counterparts. They are especially vulnerable because their compensation is not guaranteed under the labor law, and their main forum for relief is to go to small claims court. This bill seeks to correct that by amending the labor law to extend protection to this population of workers. A recent survey of 3000 independent contractors revealed that they spent 17,000 hours pursuing $3 million dollars in owed compensation. This indicates not only the disproportionate burden placed on these individuals to collect payments that are rightfully theirs, but also illustrates how much
productivity is lost because independent contractors are forced to spend time pursuing compensation when they could be performing valuable and constructive work activity.
Legislative history
2010: S.8084
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.