Massachusetts Employment Law Blog

By: Bob Shea

On June 11, 2013, New Jobs for Massachusetts, Inc., a non-profit public policy advocate for growth in private sector employment in Massachusetts, issued a report concerning the impact of the Massachusetts Independent Contractor Law (“MICL”) on self-employment growth in Massachusetts.

Using data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the report analyzes 739 occupational classifications and identifies 400 service occupations adversely affected by MICL. The report concludes that the difficulty faced by businesses in meeting the strict requirements of MICL, along with the legal liability associated with MICL non-compliance, “suppresses” the creation of over 43,000 self-employment jobs annually. The report argues that bringing MICL more in line with the independent contractor law tests used under federal law and the laws of other states will lead to significant growth in self-employment in Massachusetts.

MBBP’s Employment Law Group has addressed the problems presented by MICL for businesses using independent contractors in past communications to clients.

Please feel free to contact MBBP’s Employment Law Group with any questions on this topic.