In a recent published decision, Kennedy v. Weichert, the New Jersey Appellate Division addressed the proper classification of fully commissioned real estate salespeople as employees versus independent contractors. The court ruled that these individuals are not subject to the “ABC” test for purposes of determining their classification under the New Jersey Wage Payment Law (“WPL”).
The “ABC” Test:
Under the “ABC” test, workers are presumed to be employees unless the business can show that: (1) it neither exercised control over the worker nor had the ability to exercise control in terms of the completion of the work; (2) the services provided were either outside the usual course of business or performed outside of all the places of business of the enterprise; and (3) the individual is customarily engaged in an independently-established trade, occupation, profession or business. A business’s failure to satisfy any one of the three criteria results in the worker being classified as an “employee” for wage payment and wage and hour purposes.