Yo, NYC Freelancers: How To Take Advantage Of The New 'Freelance Isn't Free Act'

NEW YORK, NY — You may have heard some coffee-shop murmurs over the past few months about the Freelance Isn't Free Act, a new piece of city legislation meant to arm freelancers with some of the same tools and protections available to New Yorkers with office jobs and union reps. Well, as of Monday, May 15, they're murmurs no more: The act, the first of its kind in any American city, is officially in effect.

“Starting today, New York City will be the first city in the nation to protect freelancers and independent contractors from getting stiffed,” said City Councilman Brad Lander (whose district in central Brooklyn, stretching from the Columbia Waterfront over to Prospect Park, is arguably the freelance capital of NYC).

“This means new protections for NYC’s 1.3 million freelancers," Lander said in a proud statement Monday.

But all this ado will be for naught if the act isn't put to use — so we've compiled, below, all the ways you can make the new law work for you. Info provided by the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs.

Who can use it

Basically, anyone getting paid to do work for a business who's not already on salary.

The act applies to "any individual hired or retained as an independent contractor by a hiring party to provide services for compensation," city officials say — with the exception of "certain sales representatives, attorneys and licensed medical professionals," and not including freelance work done for a government agency. Read more here on the definition of a freelancer under the law.

You can use the act regardless of your immigration status.

What it can be used for

Getting paid the correct amount in a timely manner. When hired by someone to do $800 or more in work within any 120-day period, the two of you must draw up a contract. Here's a form you can use for that.The contract must 1) describe the work you will perform, 2) stipulate the amount of money you'll be paid for the work, and 3) designate the date you will get paid.

Both you and the hiring party are required to sign the contract and keep a copy.

If you haven't been paid by the date designated in the contract — or, in the case that the contract doesn’t specify a date, within 30 days of turning in your work — whoever hired you is now violating the law.

Taking action if you're still not paid on time. If the contract described above is violated, you can file a complaint with the city. Here's the simple, two-page form for that. Once it's completed, you can either email it to freelancer@dca.nyc.gov or mail it to:

NYC Department of Consumer Affairs, Attn: Office of Labor Policy & Standards
42 Broadway, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10004

The city will then have 20 days to serve your complaint to whoever hired you, and the hiring party will then have another 20 days to respond to the city. You'll then hear back from the city 20 days after that. (For a total of 60 days.)

You can also file a complaint if the hiring party never enters into a contract with you in the first place, or if they retaliate against you for exercising your rights under the act. More on that later.

Taking additional action if you're STILL getting swindled. If you're not satisfied with the hiring party's response — or if they never respond at all — you then have six years to bring the case to state court. And depending on the judge's ruling, you could be awarded double the amount of money you weren't paid in the first place, plus "injunctive relief and other such remedies as may be appropriate," according to the city.

For claims under $5,000, you'll be heading to Small Claims Court. For claims between $5,000 and $25,000, you'll be in New York Civil Court. And for any claim higher than that, you'll be in New York State Supreme Court.

You may be thinking: Court? Nah, brah. Not worth the pain.

But you don't necessarily need a lawyer to make a claim. And the city is trying to make it simpler than ever for freelancers to school themselves on their rights, represent themselves in court and cash in. To those ends, here's a handy Court Navigation Guide for Freelance Workers, drawn up by government officials in accordance with the new act.

Rights and resources

In addition to giving freelancers the right to be paid in a timely manner, the new act shields them from discrimination and retaliation.

You can now file a complaint against whoever hired you — and if necessary, bring them to court, as described above — in the case that they "threaten, intimidate, discipline, harass" or discriminate against you for taking advantage of any of your rights under the Freelance Isn't Free Act.

Join the Freelancers Union for free here.

There's also a plethora of city resources you can tap into to make sure you're maximizing your finances and getting the most out of your gigs. Here are a few:

• Visit one of the city's 20 or so Financial Empowerment Centers for free, one-on-one financial counseling. Call 311 to make an appointment.

• If your income is low enough, you may quality for free tax prep services. More info here.

• The city offers free education and training for jobseekers wanting to learn new skills (info here), free legal advice and help for immigrants in various languages (info here) and free English classes for non-native speakers (info here).

Still have questions? Read the full text of the Freelance Isn't Free Act. And here's the city's FAQ.

MORE questions? Send them to the city via email: freelancer@dca.nyc.gov.

Lead photo by David Goehring/Flickr