'Makes Compliance Impracticable'
Bagels, cookies, donuts: The American Bakers Association filed a comment opposing New Jersey's independent-contractor rule.
I vividly remember the moment when, in December 2019, a representative from the baking industry testified at a public hearing in New Jersey. I was sitting in the front row that day at the State House. I’d been up since oh dark thirty, and the hearing had dragged on for hours. I was getting hangry.
The witness started talking about all the things independent contractors do to bring baked goods into our lives. My ears sent that information to my empty stomach, which in turn launched my mind into a carbohydrate hallucination. I could taste the bread that I could not, at that moment, actually have.
I felt pretty much the same way as I read the new public comment that the American Bakers Association filed in opposition to the New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development’s proposed independent-contractor rule.
This comment states:
“As might be anticipated, wholesale baking companies need to ensure that their products are distributed to retail outlets in a safe, timely and efficient manner. Throughout the industry’s history, many companies have utilized employees to accomplish this function, and many still do, successfully. A sizable number of employees who work in such positions are represented by labor unions and are covered by collective bargaining agreements. Other groups of employed driver-sales workers have not chosen union representation. The employee model for product distribution has been shown to work well for certain companies and certain groups of employees in certain locations.
“At the same time, for over seven decades, many companies in the baking industry outsource their distribution to third-party independent contractors—in whole or in combination with employee drivers (e.g., in different regions of their operations)—to sell, distribute, and merchandise the products of baking manufacturers, though notably, the use of such arrangements has been on the rise since the late 1990s and early 2000s.
“In distribution agreements, a baking company will typically grant or sell to an Independent Distributor the right to distribute products within a sales area or territory and to market and sell those products to retailers and other accounts within that area.”
Yes, this public comment is talking about the way a lot of bread, rolls, donuts, cookies and other baked goods end up on store shelves all across New Jersey. Or don’t.
And yes, I’m now hangry all over again.
They’ve Got Stats, Too
The American Bakers Association is not just writing about people’s carbohydrate fixes. It’s also talking about a lot of people’s livelihoods.
According to an economic impact map on the association’s website, here’s what is at stake:
The American Bakers Association public comment ends with this:
“Unfortunately, ABA believes the guidance in this Proposed Rule could have a negative impact on our members and a large number of Independent Distributors who choose to use this business model. Further, we believe that our members should have the flexibility to choose between the independent contractor and employee models in their businesses; individual workers also should have the opportunity to apply their efforts through Independent Distributor arrangements when and where they are available.”
Here is the five-page American Bakers Association comment in full:
If you’ve been reading the stories I’ve been posting for two weeks now about New Jersey’s public comments, you might be surprised by the unbelievable breadth of professions where independent contractors play a vital role. So far, just some of the comments I’ve shared have been about attorneys, youth sports coaches, real-estate agents, nonprofits, roadside assistance, early intervention for kids with disabilities, musicians and broadband access.
Keep in mind that these are only a fraction of the estimated 9,500 public comments the Labor Department received. The 99% opposition to this proposed rule is coming from all kinds of professions, all across the state.