Late last year, the New York City Council passed the “Freelance Isn’t Free Act.” The act will go into effect in May of this year. The act provides that: “If a business hires a freelancer for $800 or more worth of work over six months (for either one project or a cumulative series of projects), a written agreement must be put in place,” and provides for several terms that must be placed into the written agreement. (Article). It also creates a complaint process and government body to hear the complaints, and includes penalties for flouting the law. Id. 

Since small businesses and entrepreneurs can often be well-served to use freelancers, as opposed to hiring a new employee, see, e.g., here and here, such business owners must take note of the new law, and should have a plan for hiring freelancers after the law goes into effect. It will be interesting to see how the new law plays out, and if other cities or states decide to follow New York City’s lead in passing this law.