FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TRENTON, NJ (May 6, 2026) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy association with over 6,000 members throughout the state, expressed its disappointment today as the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) announced finalization of a rule altering the classification of independent contractors. Last year, NFIB had submitted a comment letter to the department in response to the proposed rule, asking the state to consider the impact of these regulatory changes on New Jersey’s small businesses and urging withdrawal of the rule.

The proposed regulations were introduced by former Governor Phil Murphy’s administration and now adopted by Governor Mikie Sherrill’s NJDOL.

“This disappointing new rule adds additional layers of complexity to an already confusing process for small businesses in the Garden State,” said NFIB New Jersey State Director Eileen Kean. “Small business owners throughout New Jersey need clarity and stability from regulators, not more time-consuming complexity and worrisome regulatory burdens. New Jersey’s already onerous process will now be further complicated by expanded definitions and vague situational factors that make it more difficult to determine how to classify their workers.”

The NFIB Small Business Legal Center, which helped NFIB NJ craft its response to the proposed rule last year, protects the rights of small business owners in the nation’s courts. NFIB is currently active in more than 40 cases in federal and state courts across the country and in the U.S. Supreme Court.

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For over 80 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses, and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.