New Legal Protections for Freelance Workers
Summary of ASMP Ohio Valley Panel Discussion from Sep 27, 2023
The Ohio Valley chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers hosted a Zoom panel discussion September 27, 2023 at 7pm Eastern to discuss the new protections for freelance workers that took effect in Columbus, Ohio May 31, 2023. The purpose of the discussion was to review the new legal protections, understand how they worked, and to explain how those in other cities could learn how to introduce those protections into their laws as well.
The panelists included:
Taylor Dorrell, the Columbus-based freelance writer/photographer who brought the idea of freelance protection to Columbus City Council in 2022.
Kirsten Estose, the legislative analyst for City Council who drafted the legislative text for the freelance protections that Columbus City Council passed into law. She presented a slide deck on how to use the freelance protections.
Eric Thurm, the New York-based writer who is legislative lead of the Freelance Solidarity Project of the National Writer’s Union and who worked with Columbus City Council to help them understand New York’s “Freelance isn’t Free” Act.
I served as the moderator.
Sign ups for the meeting came from seven states: Ohio, Kentucky, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Wisconsin, and Massachusetts.
One interesting aspect of the meeting was that some of the freelancers attending were there to learn not just about the protections for freelancers, but also about their responsibilities as “hiring parties” themselves, a reminder that freelancers not only work for other people; they hire others to work for them and so need to know the new laws as it pertains to both sides.
A video recording was made of the panel discussion. When the video is ready, a link to it will be posted here. In the meantime, I’ve attempted to summarize all the key points in this substack.
I. Overview of the Columbus Freelance Protection Law
What Is the Goal of the Law?
To promote financial stability for freelance workers by helping ensure they are paid in a timely fashion and giving them a straightforward mechanism for seeking redress when they are not.
What Does the Law Do?
At a high level, the law:
Requires written contracts between freelance workers and hiring parties when the work is worth $250 or more
Prohibits freelance workers from being paid later than the terms of payment specified in the contract
Establishes a Commission which will follow up with hiring parties if they are not paying freelancers in a timely fashion
Further into the summary of the panel discussion we will go into more detail.
When Did The Law Go Into Effect?
May 31, 2023.
How Do I Contact the Commission If I need Help in Being Paid?
Contact Nate Hall, a staffer on the Wage Theft Prevention and Enforcement Commission. nchall@columbus.gov, 614-645-5664.
Further into the summary we will go into more detail on what should be submitted.
Who Can I Contact if I have a Question About the Law?
Kirsten Estose - Legislative Analyst, Columbus City Council at kmestose@columbus.gov.
Do I Have to Use This Commission Now Instead of Small Claims Court?
No, you can still use small claims court. The Commission was introduced as a mechanism that should be faster and simpler than small claims court in seeking redress, but it does not restrict you from pursuing payment by any conventional means.
The Wage Theft Prevention and Enforcement Commission is not a court of law but it “has the authority to settle any alleged violation”.
II. Going into the Details
I am going to highlight key points of the law here, but this summary does not replace a full reading of the municipal code changes itself, as I have not included every single clause (as that would basically just reproduce the law itself). The bullets, unless indicated in quote marks, are my summaries of the longer, legal language. The references to section numbers are to the section numbers in the municipal code.
A. From Section 2337.01-Definitions
Freelance worker is defined as “any individual or any organization composed of no more than one person, whether or not incorporated or employing a trade name, that is hired or retained as an independent contractor by a hiring party to provide goods or services in exchange for compensation.”
There are some individuals that the freelance worker definition does not apply to
“An individual or organization who, pursuant to the contract at issue, is a sales representative as defined in Section 1335.11 of the Ohio Revised Code”
“An individual or organization who is in contract under a prepaid entertainment contract as defined in Section 1345.41 of the Ohio Revised Code;”
There are some hiring parties that the law does not apply to:
the United States government
the state of Ohio
any office, department, agency, authority, institution, association, society, or other body of the state, including the legislature and the judiciary
any county or local government, other than the City of Columbus
Not explicitly stated but implicit. The law applies to the location of the hiring party, not the location of the freelancer. If the freelancer is based in Cincinnati and their client is in Columbus, the Cincinnati freelancer still benefits from the law because the Columbus company is subject to the provisions of the Columbus law.
B. from Section 2337.02–Written Contracts
Written contracts are required if the value of the goods/services the freelancer is engaged to deliver is $250 or more, “either by itself or when aggregated with all contracts for services between the same hiring party and freelance worker during the immediately preceding 120 days.”
When a written contract is required:
“[t]he hiring party shall be responsible for reducing the contract to writing unless the parties mutually agree to the use a written contract provided by the freelance worker.”
the contract must specify payment terms. Payment terms may specify a specific date, be expressed as a range of days (30 days, 60 days, 90 days, etc) or in any other form that makes the payment terms clear. Per Kirsten Estose, broad latitude was left here regarding payment terms to allow the two parties to express what is appropriate for the project.
If the contract does not specify payment terms, payment terms are assumed to be 30 days following completion of services.
When the Columbus law was reported on in the press, one photographer in the ASMP Ohio Valley Facebook group commented that the law was saying clients had to stick to net 30-day terms. That is not what the law says. The law says payment terms are what is in the contract, and in the absence of payment terms in the contract, payment terms are 30 days.
From 2337.03 – Payment Practices
“No hiring party shall, as a condition of timely payment, require a freelance worker to accept less than the contracted compensation.”
Payment shall be on or before the date according to the terms of the contract.
Again, this summary does not cover all points. To read all points, download the municipal code changes documented in the PDF.
I’ve done my best to summarize the key information, but if there is anything you don’t understand about the law, reach out to Kirsten Estose (kmestose@columbus.gov), Legislative Analyst, Columbus City Council.
Sample Contracts
If neither the freelancer or hiring party has a contract ready to use, NYC provides a sample contract template that you may want to reference. Note there are differences between NYC’s Freelance Protections and Columbus’ (e.g., in Columbus, the minimum budget that requires a written contract is $250, whereas in NYC it is $800), but none of the differences between the laws is present in the sample contract.
Also, just to be clear, Columbus has not provided a link to NYC’s sample contract in its documentation. I just included it for reference here since I thought it might be useful for some parties.
C. The Complaint Procedure
1. Where to Report Violations
If the freelancer determines that the hiring party has violated any of the requirements of the Freelance Protections law, the freelancer may reach out to the Wage Theft Prevention and Enforcement Commission for help.
Report violations to Nate Hall (staffer on Wage Theft Prevention and Enforcement Commission), nchall@columbus.gov, 614-645-5664.
You should share the contract, payment terms, the date you submitted your invoice/finished the work, how late payment is (if that is the violation). Nate might ask to see your invoice as well. Share any information you think may be pertinent so the commission can understand the violation. Your contract should have your and the hiring parties address and contact info. If not, submit that as well.
Note: This contact information is not on the city website yet. This information was shared by Kirsten Estoses as part of her slide deck. Eventually the Wage Theft Prevention and Enforcement Commission will have a web page up sharing contact information and more, but for now, we have the text of the law itself and the information Kirsten shared with us.
2. The Commission Staff’s Procedures
The Wage Theft Prevention and Enforcement Commission staff will evaluate the freelancer’s claims. If the staff determines that a violation of the Freelance protections has occurred, the staff will notify the hiring party of an investigation.
In her presentation, Kirsten noted that, based on how NYC’s freelance protection law has worked, the simple act of contacting the hiring party and notifying them that the city commission has gotten involved is often enough to prompt the hiring party to correct the violation.
This was referred to in Kirsten’s slides as a “low-intervention resolution”, meaning it did not require the freelancer to hire a lawyer or to go to court or to get tied up in bureaucratic knots. It did not even require the commission staff to escalate the issue to the commission members. The freelancer simply sent an email with supporting documentation (e.g., description of the violation, copy of the contract if it exists, evidence that the work had been completed with invoice submitted) and the commission staff, after confirming that an infraction seemed to have occurred, would follow up with the hiring party.
Panelist Taylor Dorrell went even further, noting that the freelancer may not even have to report the issue to the commission. Just referencing the commission’s existence and the new freelance protections law in an email to the client is often good enough to get the client to act. Taylor indicated that when his NYC clients were late in paying, a simple polite email to them referencing New York’s “Freelance isn’t Free” Act and indicating he would refer their late payment to NYC’s Office of Labor and Policy Standards if payment was not made, was enough to get the hiring party to immediately pay him.
Escalation to Commission Hearing
If the commission staff’s reaching out to the hiring party does not result in a resolution of the matter, then the commission staff will escalate the issue to the commission members and a public hearing will take place. The commission will provide the hiring party with a chance to to be heard.
Outcomes
Per Kirsten’s presentation, “It is possible that in the course of this process, a settlement agreement may be reached.”
If the Commission’s involvement does not result in a settlement of the dispute, “The Commission shall provide written notice of its findings of facts and conclusions of law and any recommended penalties and remedies for any adverse determination based on a violation of Chapter 2337 (the freelance protections) of the city code.”
From there , the next step would be that the freelancer may need to take the hiring party to court. Some freelance workers will be eligible for community legal support (i.e., Columbus Legal Aid Society).
If you’re asking, if I may end up in court anyway, what was the point of the commission? As noted above, based on New York City’s experience, the mere existence of the commission and the mere mention of the law and the commission is often enough to make the hiring party pay up (and/or address whatever the violation may be). This is a faster and easier path than going to court. Plus, with the new law and the existence of the commission it gives you more ammo if you do need to go to court. The belief is that in the majority of cases, having a law behind you and the threat of a public hearing will motivate hiring parties to adhere to the law well before the case needs to go to court.
III. Where Can I Find All This Info Officially on the Columbus City Website?
A link to a PDF containing the municipal code changes is here but if you are looking for a section of the website that says “Freelance Protections”, “Here’s Who to Contact for Help”, or “How I file a complaint”, those website sections are not yet built. Per Kirsten, the city is in the process of migrating to a new website system so between that and the law being very new, not all the public facing pieces are in place.
But the law itself is in place and the commission staff is in place, and we were fortunate that Kirsten Estose, Taylor Dorrell, and Eric Thrum served on a panel for ASMP to help us and our attendees understand the law in Columbus today, and how to access its benefits. The information Kirsten shared with us goes beyond anything that has been reported in the local press in explaining how to use the law so we are very grateful for her sharing her time and knowledge.
Where Do I Go For More Help?
If you have questions about the provisions in Columbus City Codes, contact Kirsten Estose - Legislative Analyst, Columbus City Council at kmestose@columbus.gov.
To file a complaint with the Commission, contact Nate Hall - Wage Theft Prevention and Enforcement Commission. nchall@columbus.gov | 614-645-5664
IV. How to Get Freelance Protections in Your City
After discussing the specifics of the Columbus law, the panel talked about how freelancers in other cities can approach their own city and state government to introduce similar protections in their backyard. The discussion covered what cities and states have protections for freelancers as part of their laws now, as well as what cities and states are currently considering it. Below I summarize how NYC’s “Freelance Isn’t Free” Act protecting freelance workers made its way to Columbus as an example of how others can try to implement it in their city/state.
A. How the “Freelance isn’t Free” Act Came to Columbus
Taylor Dorrell had lived and worked in New York City so was familiar with the city’s 2017 “Freelance isn’t Free” act. Now living in Columbus, Taylor wanted to bring the benefits of the act here. He researched organizations of freelancers and joined the Freelancer Solidarity Project, an arm of the National Writer’s Union. He approached the AFL-CIO to see if they could offer any advice on how to approach the city with a labor matter.
His AFL-CIO contact immediately recognized that City Council President Pro Tem Rob Dorans was the perfect advocate for “Freelance isn’t Free” and started an email chain that included Dorans and Dorrell. As discussions deepened, Taylor realized they needed people familiar with deeper working knowledge of New York’s “Freelance Isn’t Free”. Enter Eric Thurm, a writer and legislative lead of the Freelance Solidarity Project. By this time, Kirsten Estose, legislative analyst for City Council, had been assigned to the project, so the next part of the effort was a combination of her learning about NYC’s Freelance isn’t Free Act and then determining how much of its framework was appropriate for Columbus and where changes needed to be made because of differences in governmental structure, different state laws, etc.
Taylor’s reaching out to the AFL-CIO to contacting City Council President Pro Tem Rob Dorans to the idea making it onto Kirsten’s desk for analysis and drafting legislative text to the idea becoming law took about 1 year.
Taylor said he is strategizing with the local chapter of the Freelance Solidarity Project on what to tackle next—whether to go statewide with a campaign or to continue to pursue protections at the city level in cities like Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Dayton.
B. Lessons Learned
Freelance protections are spreading across US cities and states.
If you want to introduce it into your city, make contact with your local AFL-CIO or wherever you think you can find someone who has insight on labor issues in the city and who has a good contact with City Hall.
Finding an advocate in City Hall is key.
If you want to model your freelance protections on NYC’s Freelance isn’t Free act and you want more background than can be found researching online, contact Eric Thurm, legislative lead at the Freelance Solidarity Project, who helped Columbus City Hall understand how it worked in NYC. Another resource is the Freelancers Union.
If you want to learn more about how Taylor approached Columbus, City Hall you can reach Taylor here.
As I was doing research, I also found it useful to look at NYC’s website. They have a lot of collateral material. FAQs, brochures, sample contracts, etc.
C. Where Else Are Freelance Protections Written into Law?
As of this writing, Illinois is the only state that has state-wide freelance protections.
As for cities, according to an article in May published on the Freelancer Union’s website, the following cities have freelance protections written into law.
NYC (passed 2017)
Los Angeles (passed this year)
Columbus, OH (passed this year)
Seattle, WA (passed 2022)
Minneapolis, MN (passed 2021)
See https://blog.freelancersunion.org/2023/05/10/freelance_isnt_free_2023_updates/ for details on other campaigns that are in the works. During the panel discussion, Eric mentioned that NY State Legislature passed freelance protections into law but the governor vetoed it so they are trying to pass it at a state level again.
V. Reference Material
A. Ordinance Summary of Freelance Protections in Columbus, Ohio
B. Freelance Protections Written into the Columbus, Ohio Municipal Code (PDF)
https://columbus.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=11912465&GUID=E92EF612-01B4-4D89-B9EC-0EAF7EA868FF
The first 1 1/2 pages covers:
definitions
written contract requirements
payment practices
retaliation
enforcement and complaint procedure
waiver and effects on other laws
severability
Page 2 through page 6 covers the Wage Theft Prevention and Enforcement Commission, which was established to, among other things, enforce the provisions of the new freelance protections. Sections 377.02 (g) through (v) (page 3-page 6) describe the procedure for what happens when a complaint is received.
The rest of the document covers:
Rules and regulations
Remedies
Community education and know your rights program
Data Collection and Reporting
Just Pay fund
Severability
C. Kirsten Estose’s Slide Deck for The Panel Discussion
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ABXSRYHIFPxtsZFFnxY2eobhpEzuyiHaouobw3f1mUo/edit?usp=sharing
D. Third Party Summaries of the Changes to the Columbus, Ohio Law
https://anthonylawllc.com/blog/columbus-new-legislation-protecting-freelancers
https://www.workforcebulletin.com/columbus-oh-adds-freelance-worker-protections-to-its-city-code
E. Model Contract (from NYC)
https://www.nyc.gov/assets/dca/downloads/pdf/workers/Model-Contract-Freelance.pdf
F. Where Else Freelance Protections Are Written into Law
https://blog.freelancersunion.org/2023/05/10/freelance_isnt_free_2023_updates/