UPDATE ON MA INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR LEGISLATION

House Bill 1844, the bill we have been following to change the MA Independent Contractor Law, came out of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development with a positive reading.

The bill, now known as House Bill 4748, has new wording that is exactly the same as Senator McGee’s Amendment 260 to the budget (see the text of the bill here or refer to our post on June 7). The bill was presented by Rep. Coakley-Rivera (the co-chair of the Labor and Workforce Committee). This bill is now with a new committee, the House Committee on Ways and Means.

There are several issues to keep in mind regarding this new legislation:

1) The Legislature is busy, with the budget and the casino bill, so it is unclear whether this bill will get any attention before the end of the current session (July 30th). We will keep you posted on what we hear. We urge you to keep calling your representatives to make sure they know this issue is a priority.

2) The wording in the new legislation will work for some freelancers, but it will certainly not work for all. We were told that the new language is only a beginning and that the bill can still be amended. Our goal is to continue to talk with the representatives on the House Committee on Way and Means to figure out if we can further revise the current language and if so how.

Let us know your feelings on the new language by leaving a comment.

More to come . . .

Independent Contractor Law story to be on Channel 2

Watch WGBH, Channel 2 on Monday June 21 at 7 PM to see their story on the Independent Contractor Issue. Hopefully it will move our cause forward.

HAVE YOU BEEN DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY THE CURRENT INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR LEGISLATION?

Toni Waterman, a Producer from WGBH, is working on a story about the current Independent Contractor Law. She would like to speak to anyone who has been directly impacted by this law. You can contact Toni by calling her at 617-300-2471 or by emailing her at toni_waterman@wgbh.org. Keep in mind how much the Globe article really helped our cause, and note that this is another avenue for a just solution.

STATUS OF INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR LEGISLATION

Another piece of legislation has been filed with the clerk regarding independent contractors. It will replace HB1844, which did come out with a favorable reading. The language of this bill is below. It is the same language as Amendment 260 that was attached to the Senate Budget and was then withdrawn. The bill will get a new Bill Number and will then go to the House Steering, Policy, and Scheduling Committee or the House Ways and Means Committee. As soon as we know which committee it will go to, we will let you know, so you can start contacting the members, as well as your own Senators and Representatives. This legislation has been kept alive due to the calls and letters the legislators have been getting, so keep up the good work. It is not the time to let go of this issue. The hope is that it will be voted on in this legislative session.

Please note that the language of the bill will not work for everyone. I was told that this is only the beginning and that the bill can still be amended by the committee that will take it over.

Language of new bill follows:

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the Year Two Thousand and Ten

_______________

An Act relative to independent contractors.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Chapter 149 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 147H the following section:-

Section 147I. (a) An individual whose work is performed solely in the individual’s place of residence shall be exempt from the requirements of section 148B(a)(2), but not sections 148B (a)(1) and 148B (a)(3), of chapter 149. This section does not apply to individuals who work with or for the individual.

(b) The exception provided in paragraph (a) of this section shall not apply to an individual who has been coerced, threatened or intimidated into establishing an independent business nor shall it apply to individuals who telecommute or work remotely from home.

(c) Each individual seeking this exemption shall register with the Secretary of State and shall be issued without a fee. The registration shall contain, at a minimum, the following information: name of the individual seeking the exemption, the nature of the independently established business, the address of the residence at which the work is performed and proof that the address listed is the applicant's legal residence. The Secretary of State shall issue regulations necessary to ensure registration under this section. The document shall be typewritten, printed or in such other form as the Secretary of State shall prescribe. The document shall be executed by the individual seeking the exemption. The registration shall be renewed every 3 years.

quick update

As many of you may know or have heard, Senate Budget Amendment 260 was withdrawn last night. What we've been told from Senator McGee's office is that consensus could not be reached.

However, just because the amendment did not pass as part of the Senate Budget does not mean it's dead. Instead, the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce redrafted House Bill 1844 today and reported it out favorably. This means that it moves on to another committee before making it to the House floor for a vote before the end of the session in July.

We do not yet know what the revised language in HB 1844 includes, but we've been told it will incorporate some language from the withdrawn Amendment 260.

As soon as we know what the new language is and to which committee the amendment is headed next, we will update this space -- likely early next week. At that point, we encourage you to call your representatives frequently to make your voices heard.

CORRECTION REGARDING SENATE DEBATE ON BUDGET

Correction: The Senate will be meeting in caucus on Tuesday, May 25th to discuss the budget and amendments. The public session that you can watch on-line (http://masslegislature.tv/?l=sen_video) will begin on Wednesday, May 26th starting at 10AM. It will most likely continue into Thursday and Friday. We are looking for information on when the Independent Contractor amendments might come up for discussion.

Language of the new amendments

There are currently three amendments to the Independent Contractor law up for vote as part of the 2011 Budget -- Amendments 200, 207, and 260. You can read them here by clicking on the appropriate number. Although Amendments 200 and 207 would be helpful solutions, we feel that their chances of passing are slim. Amendment 260 is the one that Senator Thomas McGee's office worked to put together and seems to have the greatest chance of passing.

In a nutshell: Amendment 260 exempts from Prong 2 of the current law those freelancers who work from their place of residence and who register with the Secretary of State. The amendment also includes provisions to protect employees who "may be coerced, threatened or intimidated into establishing an independent business."

Please take a look at the language in Amendment 260. We believe that this is a small step forward in helping Massachusetts Independent Contractors get back to work. We recognize that this language may still be problematic for some of you -- namely, those of you who do not work in your place of residence. 

If you agree with the language in Amendment 260, please call your State Senators on Monday, May 24th, to ask for their support.

If you do not agree with the language in Amendment 260, we urge you to call Senator Thomas McGee's office (617-722-1350) and state why the language doesn't work. We don't know whether the language can be changed at this point (before the Senate Session on Tuesday, May 25th), but they should hear from you and understand how the amendment language affects your ability to work.

Please leave us your comments below so we can gauge your impressions of the language. 

Don't forget to watch the Senate Session live on Tuesday, May 25th here.

Update and Call to Action

Senator Thomas McGee and others have been working on language to amend the Independent Contractor Law (M.G.L. Chapter 149, Section 148b). This language attempts to allow Massachusetts Independent Contractors to get back to work while protecting those who were being misclassified. The language will be finalized in the next few days and should be available here by Friday evening. We will put the language on the blog as soon as it becomes available. 

This language is part of an amendment to the Senate Budget, which will be deliberated on Tuesday, May 25th. You can watch this debate online here.

If you agree with the language, contact your State Senators on Monday to ask them to vote for this amendment! Find out who your state senator is in the sidebar at the right.

House Bill 1844, by the way, is still alive.  A committee report on that bill should be coming out on May 28th. After that, we will have to follow its progress toward a vote.

Attention Western Mass Independent Contractors!

A reporter from WFCR/NPR News in Western Mass is looking to talk to you about your experiences with the Independent Contractor Misclassification Law. If you are an independent contractor living and working in Western Mass (or know one) and would like to be a part of a features story, please contact:

Jill Kaufman
88.5 WFCR, NPR News and Music for Western New England
(413) 577-0657 (desk)
(413) 545-0103 (news room)
jkaufman@wfcr.org

In case you missed it...

... you can read the Globe article here.

If you want to order a print version of the newspaper, you can do so here.

Pick up a Boston Globe tomorrow!

Pick up a Boston Globe tomorrow, Wednesday, April 7. The Business section will feature a story about the independent contractor law and the people it has affected, by reporter Katie Johnston Chase.

Even more important -- call your senators and tell them to read the Boston Globe story, too!

Update & Further Call to Action on the MA Independent Contractor issue

As we reported yesterday, the Senate voted down Amendment #4 in Senate Bill 2345. Below is a blurb from the State House News Service from 4/1/10 describing the discussion:

“SENATE REJECTS INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS AMENDMENT: Senate Democrats on Thursday overwhelmingly rejected a GOP amendment aimed at overhauling a portion of a 2004 law that changed the definition of independent contractors. Senate Republicans said the law has burdened small businesses with new taxes that the GOP says should not apply to independent contractors, such as couriers. Senate Democrats said the 2004 law, part of a construction reform effort drafted by former Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, requires some fixes but argued legislation before the Senate Thursday to streamline economic development agencies was not the proper vehicle. Sen. Thomas McGee vowed to bring interested parties together and bring a solution to the problem to the Senate this session. Sen. Steven Tolman said the 2004 definition had provided important protections to workers and while he acknowledged problems with the law that need to be addressed, he urged the Senate to slow down its consideration of the issue, prompting Sen. Richard Tisei to note the problem has already lingered for six years.”

There is another Amendment (see below) attached to the Economic Development Bill. Amendment #5 establishes an appeals board as a fix to the independent contractor issue. However, as it is now written it is highly unlikely that Amendment 53 will solve the problem. See below for the language of Amendment #53 and talking points on this Amendment.

We are asking everyone to AGAIN call their State Senator and the Senate President’s Office (617-722-1500) to ask them NOT to support amendment #53 for Senate Bill 2345, which will NOT fix the problem. We also further urge the Joint Committee for Labor and Workforce Development to work with our community to fix the issues on the independent contractor issue.

Use the following link to find your State Senator (on the form it says Senate in the General Court): http://www.wheredoivotema.com/ /myelectioninfo.php.

Please tell as many people as you can to contact the Senate President and their State Senator on this issue. Your calls really matter and even though amendment #4 didn’t pass your calls let the Senate leaders know they need to fix the issue. We need to keep “encouraging” them to do so. Thank you.

Amendment #53 Language-

INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS

Mr. Rosenberg moves to amend S2345 by inserting at the end thereof the following new section:-

SECTION Chapter 149 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding after section 148B the following new section:

Section 148C. There shall be in the department of labor and workforce development an independent contractor appeals board, hereinafter called the appeals board.

The board shall consist of 3 members designated by secretary of labor and workforce development. The secretary of labor and workforce development will select one of the members to serve as chair of the appeals board.

Whoever is aggrieved by an interpretation of chapter 149; section 148b by any agency or any person charged with the administration of chapter 149; section 148b may within forty-five days after of notice thereof appeal from such interpretation to the appeals board. Appeals hereunder shall be on forms provided by the appeals board and shall be accompanied by such fee as said appeals board may determine.

The chair of the appeals shall public hearings under this section to hear testimony and take evidence. The chair shall fix a convenient time and place for a public hearing before said three members.

Decisions on appeal shall require the concurrence of at least two of the three members holding the public hearing and the appeals board shall state in writing its findings of fact, its conclusions, reasons for its decision and indicate the vote of each member of the appeals board upon the decision.

Said hearing shall be held not later than thirty days after the filing of such appeal unless such time is extended by agreement with the appellant. The chairman shall give at least ten days notice of the time and place of said hearing to all interested parties. Any such party may appear in person at such hearing. The appeals board shall issue a decision or order reversing or affirming or within thirty days after such hearing, unless such time is extended by agreement with the appellant.

A copy of such order or decision of the appeals board shall be sent forthwith by certified mail to all interested parties.

The appeals board may establish a local board of appeals in a city or town or a regional board of appeal for more than two or more cities or towns consisting of three members. Such local or regional board of appeals may have the same powers and duties relative to appeals as the independent contractor appeals board. A copy of any decision by a local board of appeal shall be transmitted to the board within ten days after the rendering of such decision.

Talking points on Amendment #53

1) No company from out of state or internationally will file an appeal - instead they just will continue to not hire our freelancers here in MA. There have been hundreds of people negatively impacted by this law.

2) This appeal process will not be able to address/handle all these people or industry sectors in a timely or efficient fashion. Think about how many writers, photographers, illustrators, web designers, graphic designers, etc. have been impacted by this law in our state.

3) Other state agencies, such as the Massachusetts Cultural Council, would need to be able to pick people to serve on the appeals board to ensure the sectors impacted and their issues are understood by any appeals board.

4) There is a deep concern about the fee to file appeal forms, as it is not defined and any amount could be cost prohibitive for individuals and for small businesses. There should not be a fee for filing an appeal.