As of October 1^st, 2026, New Jersey employers will be subject to new regulations explaining how the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (“NJDOL”) will apply the State’s existing “ABC test” to determine whether a worker is properly classified as an independent contractor.

While the ABC test itself has not changed, the new regulations detail specific factors the NJDOL will consider when applying each part of the test, giving employers more detailed guidance on how their independent contractor relationships will be evaluated.

Under New Jersey’s longstanding ABC test, a worker is presumed to be an employee unless the employer can establish all three of the following:

• A – Freedom from control: The worker is free from the employer’s control or direction
• B – Work outside the business: The work is outside the employer’s usual course of business or performed outside its places of business
• C – Independent business: The worker is customarily engaged in an independently established business or profession

The new regulations identify factors NJDOL will consider under each part of the test, including the employer’s control over the work, how and where services are performed, and whether the worker operates a genuinely independent business.

Importantly, forming an LLC, obtaining insurance, holding a professional license or providing services for another company do not, by themselves, establish independent contractor status per the updated regulations.

Employers using independent contractors in New Jersey should review those relationships against the new regulations, particularly where contractors perform work central to the employer’s business or work under employer direction of control.

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If you have questions or would like additional information, please contact our Labor & Employment attorneys or the primary EGS attorney with whom you work.