'It Would Cause Chaos'

Johnny Ott of The Cryptkeeper Five is among the musicians who filed public comments opposing New Jersey's independent-contractor rule.

I’ll admit that until today, I’d never heard of The Cryptkeeper Five. It’s a Trenton, New Jersey-based punk-rock band that’s been around since 1997, and that I learned existed after I read a thoughtfully written public comment that musician Johnny Ott filed amid the 99% opposition to New Jersey’s proposed independent-contractor rule.

Ott’s public comment lays out a host of reasons that New Jersey’s proposed independent-contractor rule would make it impossible for him to continue operating and earning income for his creative services, not only as a musician, but also in graphic design and art.

He wrote:

“Over the years, I have had the opportunity to lend my time and talents to various causes, including performing at fundraisers for progressive issues and Democratic candidates. The ability to work as a contractor allows me to supplement income from my primary job and maintain the flexible schedule required of an artist who plays gigs and takes side work in a number of industries.

“California is the only other state in the nation to attempt to enact a proposal as sweeping as PRN 2025-051. In that state, the ABC test did not help contractors like me. In fact, it put them out of work. Music venues were suddenly required to employ the bands who played gigs on their stages. Freelance musicians were technically required to become employees of a bandleader. Sitting in on a recording session required a deep dive into employment law. The impact was chilling.

“Thankfully, California lawmakers recognized the ABC had no place in creative services and exempted the music industry, graphic designers, and a host of other services. Alarmingly, the New Jersey proposal has none of the California exemptions. It would cause chaos across the economy. From insurance agents and financial services professionals on New Jersey Main Streets to artists like me playing gigs at bars and clubs, it would create a host of negative consequences because it treats us all as exploited workers when nothing could be further from the truth. That is wrong."

“When a regulation intended to help workers like me actually causes harm by making it more difficult to make a living, the state should step back and reassess.”

Here is what Ott wrote in full to New Jersey’s Department of Labor & Workforce Development:

I’m totally rocking out to every word of this tune that Ott is singing in his public comment.

If you’re into punk rock, you might also want to rock out Ott’s band playing Rot Gut Whiskey:

The Side Man

Ott is not the only musician who filed a public comment in opposition to New Jersey’s proposed independent-contractor rule. Another written comment came from Bradley Madsen, a musician I’ve known for years. He plays all kinds of music, as you can see here (that’s Madsen on trombone):

Madsen is also a member of the grassroots group I co-founded back in 2019, called Fight For Freelancers. He wrote this great op-ed in The Asbury Park Press back when we all came together to stop New Jersey’s Legislature from imposing California-style restrictions on independent contractors:

In his newly filed two-page public comment opposing the Labor Department’s proposed rule, Madsen goes into great detail about how the music business works these days, and why the proposed independent-contractor rule would be highly problematic:

Rock on, guys.

In fact, crank it up to 11.

I’ll have more to come from the unbelievable breadth of public comments from countless professions that were filed in 99% opposition to New Jersey’s proposed independent-contractor rule.