A proposal to change how New Jersey treats amateur sports officials could threaten the system that supplies referees and umpires to youth leagues, tournaments and high schools.
According to NJ.com, the changes could potentially reduce the number of available officials and increase costs for sports organizations and families.
New regulations governing New Jersey’s test for determining whether workers are employees or independent contractors lies at the heart of the problem. The regulations are scheduled to take effect Oct. 1.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers are now trying exempt exempt amateur sports officials from the change by explicitly classifying referees, umpires and other compensated officials as independent contractors under state law.
Under New Jersey’s ABC test, a worker is presumed to be an employee unless the hiring entity can establish three conditions for independent-contractor status. The worker must be free from control or direction, the work must fall outside the hiring entity’s usual course of business or be performed outside its places of business, and the worker must be independently established in the relevant trade or business.
Officials, athletics directors and youth sports organizations had warned that requiring officials to be treated as employees could disrupt a system in which most officials work part time while maintaining other careers or working after retirement.
“This is an industry where nobody makes a living doing this,” said John Gallante, president and assignor for the Tri-State Elite Umpires Association.
State Sen. Kristin Corrado, R-Passaic, a sponsor of S4045, said the legislation was prompted by the new independent-contractor regulations.
“These rules make working as an independent contractor in New Jersey even harder than it already was,” Corrado said.
Brian Delahant, president of the United States Amateur Baseball League, the largest travel baseball circuit in New Jersey, said officiating does not fit the traditional employment model.
“Sports officials aren’t traditional employees,” Delahant said. “They choose when and where they work, which games they accept, and often work for multiple organizations. That flexibility is exactly what makes officiating work.”
Delahant said the potential impact is significant as youth sports organizations already face a shortage of qualified officials.
“New Jersey should be making it easier for people to officiate, not creating barriers that could mean fewer officials, higher costs for families, and ultimately fewer opportunities to play,” he said.
