The Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development will hear testimony on Senate Bill 1002 on June 23.
A Massachusetts legislative committee is set to hear testimony on potential changes to the state’s burdensome independent contractor law.
“Massachusetts’ unique independent contractor law is another ‘Massachusetts-only’ law that costs the state jobs,” said NFIB/MA State Director Bill Vernon. “The commonwealth needs to change its worker classification law back into the mainstream with its competitor states.”
A coalition that includes NFIB, as well as the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Massachusetts Society of CPAs, and Associated Industries of Massachusetts, is pushing changes that would vault the state’s economy into the 21st Century.
“Massachusetts’ economy, particularly with the Commonwealth’s demographics of youth and diverse population, is uniquely suited to take advantage of the new way that people work,” reads a position paper on Senate Bill 1002, which would establish the current Internal Revenue Code test in the state for determining worker classification. “In the eighties and nineties, Massachusetts lost its edge in the high tech industry to Silicon Valley, CA, Austin, TX, and the Golden Triangle in NC. We cannot afford to lose out again. We must make alternative employment available and welcome in Massachusetts.”
NFIB/Massachusetts has argued that the bill would “encourage job creation across a variety of industries, including the creative economy, biotech, physical training, and others, where the current law has resulted in fewer jobs.”
