idealmike
Level X3
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There's some big changes going on in the world of freelancing in NY, USA right now that can effect both freelancer and the people that hire freelancers. A new law was passed by the city council of New York in October that officially goes live in May 2017.
The FIFTA Act is a law that says that written contracts will be needed to be drawn up and signed by both parties for freelance projects that sell for at least $800 or more over a 6 month period.
Image: NYC Takes Steps to Protect Gig Economy Workers.
And the FIFTA act will enable freelancers to open and file a complaint with the DLS (Department for Labor Standards) against any clients that don't pay up or are late paying and can even impose fines and penalties for those who are found guilty of not making any payment for work that has been carried out as per the contracts terms.
This new FIFTA law is being seen as a historic landmark victor and a testament to what happens when people come together and support a common cause for a very good reason. It can be seriously distressing when you're a freelancer who has done a huge amount of work and spent a lot of time on a client only to not get paid what's rightfully yours.
It's said that 38% of people working in New York are freelancers and it's high time new laws were introduced to protect them from non paying clients and it's something they hope to see passed and taken up in other states in the US also.
Freelance means = no strings attached. Which is good for the freelancer or whoever needs a freelance service. But like any industry, there are always those don't pay for the work that's been done for them for whatever reason.
This new law will ensure that those freelancers who done the work according to the contract will get paid for it, one way or another, through the Department for Labor Standards agency.
So if you own and are running a small business in NYC and you make use of freelancers to make your business tick over, you should think about preparing a contract with your attorney to go over any current contracts you have and learn what the practices are regarding hiring freelancers for your business.
Likewise freelancers, you should think about making your clients sign a contract for very large orders of $800 or more. Even for smaller sized clients and budgets as a fail safe to make sure you get paid for your time and work.
What do you think about this new FIFTA act?
Do you think it will help or hinder a freelancer who sells freelance services (such as SEO services) for more than $800?
What about if the work was done, but isn't up to scratch or quite how described?
How do you think a scenario like that would play out?
I'm guessing the Department for Labor Standards would have to review the work and then make a decision on it?
Kind of like how PayPal does now if someone opens a significantly not as described dispute.
You as a freelancer would have to prove you've done the work. But what if they decide it's not up to scratch and worth what the client was supposed to pay for it?
I guess that's something we'll learn about as time goes on and cases come to light.
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Everett
I would probably set up a freelance portal website, and have the client electronically sign a contract on there, after the order is submitted. If there isn't an order, then I'll probably provide an option just for the contract signing to be compliant with the new law. Hopefully there isn't too many more things in the future like this for freelancers. Hopefully it doesn't get to a point where freelancing is too much of a pain, that'll be quite depressing. This is a really great move for New York, however it will most likely set back freelancers because writing contracts can be quite time consuming. I like that they are imposing this new law, but it kind of is a bit too intrusive in the freelancing world. What if you have multiple clients that pay more than $800, that means you'll have to write all of those contracts.. my goodness! I would probably set up a freelance portal website, and have the client electronically sign a contract on there, after the order is submitted. If there isn't an order, then I'll probably provide an option just for the contract signing to be compliant with the new law. Hopefully there isn't too many more things in the future like this for freelancers. Hopefully it doesn't get to a point where freelancing is too much of a pain, that'll be quite depressing.
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