New Jersey law

More people than ever are joining the ranks of those who have cast off the shackles of the ‘workaday world’ (as your grandfather used to call it), deciding instead to become freelancers. But what does it mean when you hear someone say they ‘freelance’? And is an independent contractor or a consultant the same as a freelancer? The short answer? No one knows. Well, of course, employment lawyers know the difference, but if you try typing the question into a search engine, you’re likely to get a thousand different answers from a thousand different people (and not to mention bickering from here ’til the end of cyberspace). Most would agree, however, that the terms ‘freelancer,’ ‘independent contractor,’ and ‘consultant’ are oft used interchangeably … with one major difference, and that difference comes in the word ‘contract.’ Oftentimes, freelancers will work under contract … and oftentimes they won’t. Independent contractors, however, are called such because they work under contract. True, most who consider themselves to be freelancers tend to work in artistic pursuits. However, artists can also be independent contractors simply because they can work under contracts. But what about the employment laws that pertain to freelancers? Are they that much different from the employment laws regarding employees?