The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) is again urging its members to contact their local legislators after a new independent contractor bill was introduced in New Jersey.
The bill, similar to bills in New York and California, would re-define the role of independent contractors vs. those considered 'employees' of companies. ASTA is asking members to lobby politicians for an exemption to the bill for travel agents and travel advisors.
ASTA was successful in securing an exemption for travel advisors in California and is actively working to do so in New York and New Jersey.
"The New Jersey legislature is in a lame-duck session through the end of the year and could take final votes on this bill in the next few weeks," ASTA said in its Travel Advisor Daily newsletter. "It is critical that we convince legislators to amend the bill to protect the IC model in our industry, as we successfully did in California and will have to do in neighboring New York next year."
Barely a week ago, ASTA committed its help and resources to New York when that state introduced an independent contractor bill.
Earlier this summer, ASTA's Eben Peck wrote an impassioned letter in support of a congressional bill that would define the role of independent contractors in today's workplace.
He noted that travel advisors are responsible for the sale of the majority of air travel in the U.S., processing more than 300,000 tickets per day and selling $86 billion worth of tickets in 2018.
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