New Jersey State Supreme Court Ruling Creates Model for Independent Contractor Status; Housing Supply Accelerator Playbook Launched to Offer Options to Meet Housing Supply and Affordability Needs; Local Reaction to U.S. Supreme Court Ruling in Grants Pass vs. Johnson Regarding Homelessness
This week in the GAD Top Three, we start by reviewing a New Jersey Supreme Court ruling that establishes a precedent for other states to protect independent contractor status. Second, the National Association of REALTORS in partnership with the NLC, APA, MBA, and NAHB launched a tool offering a menu of options to meet the need for housing supply and affordability. Lastly, we look at a local reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the enforcement of laws that regulate camping on public property does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment.
1. New Jersey State Supreme Court Ruling Creates Model for Independent Contractor Status
A recent state Supreme Court ruling could put to bed issues with maintaining independent contractor status in New Jersey. This case began in 2019 when the brokerage Weichert Co. was sued by one of its sales associates, claiming the brokerage misclassified them and other agents as independent contractors instead of employees. The New Jersey REALTORS, with legal action support from NAR, challenged a trial court ruling that a salesperson’s status should not be determined by a brokerage agreement, but by a legal standard that governs employee classification issues under New Jersey’s Wage Payment Law (WPL), known as the “ABC” test. The New Jersey Association also successfully lobbied state lawmakers to amend the New Jersey Real Estate License Act, often known as the Brokers Act, to clarify that written agreements between a broker and salesperson define the worker’s status. These efforts led to the New Jersey Supreme Court’s dismissal of the original case in mid-May.
This ruling could offer a precedent for other states. The ruling in this case (James Kennedy, II v. Weichert Co.) upheld the state’s amended law stating that real estate brokers and salespeople can decide the nature of their working relationship. Read more on this case via a NAR article and check out this “Window to the Law” video from NAR on brokerage tips about entering into independent contractor status with salespersons.
2. Housing Supply Accelerator Playbook Launched to Offer Options to Meet Housing Supply and Affordability Needs
Launched this summer the Housing Supply Accelerator Playbook was launched by partnering organizations: The National League of Cities (NLC), the American Planning Association, The Mortgage Bankers Association, the National Association of Home Builders, and our own National Association of REALTORS (NAR). While this playbook was developed in response to the identification of housing supply and affordability as the top priority for state and local REALTOR® associations, it is a universal issue across our country. This playbook was created to offer a menu of options that meets communities where they are in each category; which they can scale up or scale down. The categories within the playbook include collaboration and partnership, construction and development, finance, and land use and regulation. You can read check out the Housing Supply Accelerator Playbook HERE and you can check out this NAR article on the Housing Supply Accelerator Playbook.
3. Local Reaction to U.S. Supreme Court Ruling in Grants Pass vs. Johnson Regarding Homelessness
Released the morning of Friday, June 28th, the U.S. Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision concluded that the enforcement of laws regulating camping on public property does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the United States Eighth Amendment. This ruling will allow municipalities to issue more citations and arrests to homeless individuals without violating the Eighth Amendment. With a continued rise in homelessness in the Northern Michigan region, the City of Traverse City released a press release in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Grants Pass vs. Johnson. The City of Traverse City stated that they will “continue to collaborate with our partners to address the homeless situation in Traverse City… The City will move forward with a compassionate and effective approach” (Traverse City Mayor, Amy Shamroe). Also, “the City and Police Department plan to continue managing the situation at the Pines in a way that balances the interest of the entire community, including those who are unhoused” (Traverse City Police Chief, Matt Richmond). The City of Traverse City also noted that “understanding the specific legal and practical implications of the Supreme Court's decision will help in shaping policies that are both compassionate and legally sound.” (Traverse City Attorney, Lauren Trible-Laucht). Check out the local coverage of this U.S. Supreme Court ruling via the Traverse City Record-Eagle and the Traverse City Ticker.
