NAIFA-NJ grassroots leader pushes back on proposed independent contractor rule

New Jersey financial professional Jill Van Nostrand submitted a comment letter to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development opposing the state’s proposed expansion of the ABC Test for determining independent contractor status. Representing herself, her Main Street clients, and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors of New Jersey (NAIFA-NJ), where she serves as Grassroots Advocacy Chair, Van Nostrand urged the Department to rescind the rule, citing its legal overreach and harmful economic impact.

The proposal puts thousands of independent financial professionals at risk of being misclassified as employees, Van Nostrand wrote, adding that it ignores decades of legal precedent and places unnecessary burdens on highly regulated professionals who are already held to strict compliance standards.

Van Nostrand said the proposal “would have far-reaching consequences,” negatively impacting small business owners, employees, and consumers.  She added:

“The proposal would especially harm New Jersey’s financial-services and insurance industries. In these industries alone, the proposal would risk misclassifying thousands of independent contractors as employers. Many of these contractors will retire or relocate in response. The businesses with which they contract may decide to work with fewer contractors or provide fewer services to consumers to reduce legal risk. All these problems and more are documented in publicly available studies demonstrating the consequences of reclassifying independent contractors as employees. By contrast, the Department has provided the public with zero evidence to justify the boilerplate assertions that the proposal will have no adverse economic consequences.

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