Stop Moving the Goalposts on Independent Workers

In sports, everyone understands the importance of clear rules. You cannot call balls and strikes if the strike zone keeps moving.

After spending years as an athletic director at Lower Cape May Regional High School, I know firsthand how important officials are to school athletics. Referees and umpires aren't simply names on a schedule. Without them, games don't happen.

That is why the latest debate over New Jersey's independent-contractor rules should concern more than referees.

New regulations governing the state's ABC test take effect October 1. Amateur sports organizations and athletic directors have warned that uncertainty over the classification of officials could mean fewer referees, higher costs and greater administrative burdens for schools and leagues. Athletic directors interviewed by NJ.com described how schools rely on independent officiating associations to find officials and manage constantly changing schedules.

I applaud the bipartisan sponsors working to protect New Jersey’s referees and umpires. But the need for this legislation points to a bigger problem: if we keep needing profession-by-profession exemptions, it’s time to examine the system itself.

There is a legitimate reason for worker-classification laws. New Jersey should protect workers who are improperly labeled independent contractors simply so an employer can avoid its responsibilities.

But there is a difference between misclassifying an employee and allowing someone to choose independent work.

Referees demonstrate that distinction. Many work part time, maintain other careers or are retired, and officiate for multiple organizations.

Musicians face a similar problem.

As a musician myself, I sponsor legislation protecting the ability of musicians to work as independent contractors. A musician may play at a restaurant Friday, a wedding Saturday and another venue Sunday. Those businesses aren't necessarily hiring an employee. They're hiring an independent professional for a particular service.

A referee working games for several leagues isn't much different.

And that's the larger issue Trenton needs to address.

If we continually need legislation carving individual professions out of our worker-classification system, we should examine the system itself.

We should protect workers from genuine misclassification without allowing the ABC test to creep further into legitimate independent work. The objective should be a clear distinction between businesses disguising employees as contractors and New Jerseyans who intentionally make a living, earn extra income or serve their communities by working for themselves.

The referees deserve an answer. Musicians deserve one, too.

But rather than waiting for the next profession to come to Trenton asking for protection, we should establish clear rules that recognize something very simple:

Independent workers are still workers, and choosing to work for yourself is a choice New Jersey should respect.