Law360 Quotes Locke Lord’s Richard Reibstein on What Employers Should Know About New York’s Independent Contractor Pay Protection Law

Richard Reibstein, a New York Partner in Locke Lord’s Labor and Employment Practice Group and co-head of the Firm’s Independent Contractor Compliance and Misclassification Practice, was quoted by Law360 discussing what employers should know about New York’s Freelance Isn’t Free Act, which took effect on August 28, 2024. The act guarantees independent contractors operating as freelance workers the right to written contracts containing details about services, compensation and remedies they can enforce in court if they are not paid for their services in a timely manner. Reibstein cautions companies: “As the requirements go statewide in New York, businesses should not think a freelance contract shields them from independent contractor misclassification claims.”

He further explains that the new law “gives companies a false sense of assurance that they are in compliance with the law, rather than making sure that their contract contains all of the appropriate clauses that establish an independent contractor relationship.”

Reibstein notes the freelancer law’s retaliation provisions are also concerning. “The law may provide a cause of action for any contractor who doesn’t get a repeat gig, if the contractor has ever objected to a delay in payment, where the delay was caused by unsatisfactory work,” he adds.

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