What became operative

New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development rules at N.J.A.C. 12:11 became operative October 1. They explain how the department applies the state’s statutory ABC test when a business claims a worker is an independent contractor rather than an employee.

The department states that the rules do not create a new test or copy California’s AB5 law. New Jersey’s existing statutory test remains the controlling standard, and the putative employer bears the burden of satisfying all three prongs.

The three prongs

Prong A asks whether the worker is and will remain free from control or direction, both under the contract and in practice. Prong B asks whether the work is outside the business’s usual course or outside all of its places of business. Prong C asks whether the worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession or business.

A written independent-contractor label, business registration, insurance or ownership of equipment does not by itself decide the result. The rules direct the department to examine the actual relationship and the full set of relevant facts.

What it means for trucking

Owner-operators and carriers doing business in New Jersey should review dispatch control, exclusivity, compensation, equipment, customer relationships, business independence and contract terms with qualified counsel. The rules do not automatically reclassify every owner-operator on October 1, and this article does not decide any individual relationship.

The rules address worker classification under identified New Jersey labor laws. They do not amend federal CDL, lease, hours-of-service or safety rules, and the state’s adoption record does not resolve every potential federal-preemption or industry-specific legal question.

Primary sources and supporting records

Related CDL practice

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