Many businesses are concerned about the independent contractor (IC) regulation issued by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) that is scheduled to go into effect on October 1, 2026 – unless political pressure from certain legislators and concerned stakeholders results in a delay in enforcement. As we discussed in our blog post of May 6, 2026, the final regulation takes a more moderate regulatory approach than the proposed regulation issued in April 2025. However, the new regulation still carries out one of the most business-unfriendly tests for IC status in the country and, as noted below, interprets that test in a particularly unhelpful manner. While some companies may mistakenly regard this New Jersey regulation as only governing businesses located or operating a facility in New Jersey, it also impacts companies operating on a nationwide basis that engage any New Jersey workers who perform services from their home offices or other business locations in New Jersey. This upcoming state IC regulation, therefore, is yet another reason for companies operating either in New Jersey or on a remote basis with workers from many states across the country to assess their potential exposure if they engage New Jersey workers as ICs and fail to meet the strict test for IC status in that state. This should prompt prudent businesses to use a process such as IC Diagnostics® to enhance their IC compliance in a customized and sustained manner in an effort to meet the new regulatory requirements in New Jersey.