Labor & Employment

This New Jersey bill introduces a new fee for employers who have at least 50 employees receiving Medicaid health coverage. The fee amount varies based on company size, charging $325, $525, or $725 per covered employee and their dependents depending on whether the employer has between 50-249, 250-499, or 500 or more Medicaid recipients. Employers with employees who have developmental, intellectual, or permanent physical disabilities are exempt from paying this charge. The revenue generated from these fees is intended to help cover the costs of the State Medicaid program.

S 2782 clarifies that certain licensed or regulated professionals in New Jersey may be treated as independent contractors under state law if they have a written agreement designating them as such. It directly affects insurance producers, securities professionals (broker-dealers, agents, investment advisers), freight drivers at marine terminals/rail facilities meeting specific unemployment exemption criteria, and others meeting defined criteria under unemployment law. The bill prevents these professionals from being classified as employees for any purpose under state law during the term of their written agreement and eliminates the need for them to satisfy additional tests (like those under wage and hour laws) to maintain independent contractor status. It applies retroactively to all existing written agreements for these professionals.