Key Takeaways:

• Gov. Hochul vetoed the Freelance Isn’t Free Act.

• Gov. Hochul vetoed the State Contractor Equal Pay Disclosure bill.

• New Versions of both bills may be reintroduced in next  year’s legislative session.

On December 23, 2022, Gov. Hochul vetoed Bill A9368/S8369B. The bill was modeled after the Freelance Isn’t Free Act, enacted in 2016 in New York City, and would have created a state wide law with the same name, Freelance Isn’t Free Act. The bill would have created New York Labor Law 191-d, imposing requirements relating to payments and contracts with freelance individuals working as independent contractors.

On December 23, 2022, Gov. Hochul also vetoed Bill A5773/S2239. That bill would have created New York Executive Law 15-D and required contractors that have agreements with a New York State agency exceeding $50,000 to submit equal pay reports that include compensation data by various employee demographics (e.g. race, gender).

Vetoed bills are returned to the chamber that first passed it. A veto can be overridden by a two-thirds majority from both legislative houses, but since the legislative session ended for 2022, the bills would need to be reintroduced as new bills during next year’s session that starts in January 2023. Our Employment and Labor team will continue to monitor legislation in these areas.