Trenton Democrats are making war on working mothers
/Many working mothers depend on the flexible arrangements that working as an independent contractor provides them. But such arrangements could soon be illegal in New Jersey, if Trenton Democrats have their way.
Last week, Senate Bill S-4204 passed out of the Senate Labor Committee on a 3 to 1 vote. That’s three Democrat YES votes – Fred Madden, Joseph Lagana, and Jim Beach – to one Republican NO (Tony Bucco). The bill has one sponsor – Senate President Steve Sweeney.
On Monday, it was the turn of the Assembly Democrats, who passed their version of the bill out of committee on a 6 (Democrats) to 3 (Republicans) vote. Figures that creeps like Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling didn’t have the balls to take this vote before the election. In fact, the Democrats waited until after Election Day to introduce their bills in both chambers of the Legislature. Now it’s getting fast-tracked. How dishonest is that! Waiting until after the voters can do something about it – and then screwing mom. Hey, you know what that makes them?
As proposed by Sweeney, S-4204 “provides that, for the purposes of all State employment laws, individuals who perform services for remuneration are employees, not independent contractors, and are subject to the provisions of those laws… unless and until it is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that:
a. The individual has been and will continue to be free from control or direction over the performance of the service, both under the individual’s contract of service and in fact; and
b. The individual’s service is either outside the usual course of the business for which that service is performed; and
c. The individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession or business of the same nature as that involved in the work performed.”
This is an incredibly stupid move for a potential candidate for Governor in 2021. Whoever advised Sweeney to do this must have been hitting the pipe overtime. But it gets worse because the guy Sweeney would be running against – incumbent Democrat Governor Phil Murphy – supports screwing over working moms too.
Why are they doing it in the face of data that clearly indicates the current structure helps working mothers? United States Census data has chronicled this common route back to work for women trying to balance motherhood with gainful employment. And there is a large academic literature on the subject. As New Jersey 101.5’s Bill Spadea noted:
That's right, If you're a working mom who took some time off to have and raise your children, you may be at risk.
The latest attack on our economy from the radicals in Trenton is a new bill that would all but eliminate the ability for a person to work as an independent contractor in New Jersey…
The restrictions placed on employers in order to essentially force them to hire W2 employees only will be most hurtful to working moms. So many mothers need the flexibility of returning to work and controlling their own hours like ride share drivers, food delivery, special education providers, among many, many others.
As we know, the so-called 'gender pay gap' is a very complicated issue and has everything to do with choices many women make to stay home with their kids for a number of years. Naturally, returning to the workforce after a gap in experience results in reduction in pay as many women are essentially starting again. The idea of returning to work as an independent contractor offers the kind of additional income and flexible hours, which empowers moms to continue managing their homes, balancing child care and of course, paying NJ taxes.
We heard from Alida Kass on Monday from the NJ Civil Justice Institute prior to her testifying before the Assembly committee discussing the new law. Then Jon Bramnick, the recently re-elected Assembly Minority Leader, explaining that this is all about new taxes for NJ businesses and another reason that many business owners will look to leave NJ. They can simply head across the river to PA or DE and not pay the additional taxes at all.
Read More: Murphy's and Sweeney's new tax target: Moms returning to work
Hear Bill Spadea interview Alida Kass…
The NFIB noted that the New Jersey Democrats are merely copying a FrCalifornia law that totally screwed working mothers and small businesses in that state, but apparently those pushing this legislation don’t care. The only kind of business they favor is the crony capitalist kind – businesses big enough to collect corporate welfare and then kick-back to the right politicians and their superPACs. Real dirtbag stuff.
Hopefully there’s a Republican on the horizon who will stand up for moms and cut the nuts off these Democrats.
