Gov. Murphy does not sign two bills of concern to small business!
Dear NFIB Members,
The 218th Legislative session officially ended at noon on January 21, 2020. Two bills impacting small businesses died, and three other related bills were signed into law.
The Governor did not sign the following two bills into law that impacted our members and NFIB Opposed:
Stop-loss bill is stopped– S-3270/A-5095 which would have prohibited the sale of stop-loss insurance when a small employer chooses to provide health insurance to its employees by self-insuring (paying for the medical claims of its employees) received a pocket veto from Governor Murphy. Stop-loss insurance is a necessity when small employers are self-insuring because it acts as a financial backstop for claims above a certain dollar amount and caps the upper limit of what small employers will have to pay out of pocket for unforeseen or unusually high claims.
Freelance Workers Protected – S-1048/A-1526 – This legislation concerning how employers pay independent contractors and freelancers also received a pocket veto. Another bill with stricter standards for independent contractors failed to win final legislative approval on January 13. However, this bill has already been reintroduced for the new legislative session. NFIB is working with a coalition of concerned organizations to advocate for continued worker flexibility for all independent contractors and freelance workers.
The following three bills concerning worker classification were signed into law:
The bills allow for stop-work orders against employers violating state wage, benefit, and tax law; provides an assessment of penalties for violations in connection with misclassification of employees; and require employers to post a notice for their employees regarding employee misclassification.
A-5838 – Concerns stop-work orders. A-5839 – Concerns penalties for misclassification of employees. A-5843 – Requires employers to post notice for employees on employee misclassification.
As we move into the new legislative session, I will be monitoring all the bills of concern to our members and keeping you apprised of what is going on in Trenton.
Sincerely,
Eileen Kean
State Director, NFIB in New Jersey
