Are you saying Freelance isn’t Free?
Photo by Jay Wennington on Unsplash
Let’s be honest… if you’re a freelancer, you know how much it sucks to get burned.
Stop me if this sounds familiar:
Your client‘s pitching a huge account and needs something produced ASAP. They need it immediately.
“Sorry for the late notice… Here’s what I need. We really can’t waste time on contracts, but you can trust me. I’ll talk to accounting on Monday and make sure you’re paid ASAP, (as long as we’ve gotten the deliverables). This is a HUGE account for us, and it will mean so much more work for us both. Really counting on you here.”
You drop everything and scramble to get the work done on an unreasonably tight timeframe. Who needs sleep? You send them your work; they thank you and tell you they love it.
You send your invoice the same day, and…
… crickets.
You follow-up a week later, and…
… still nothing.
You send another email two weeks later, and you hear something like this…
“You mean you haven’t been paid yet? Ugh. These accountants are the worst… let me check on it for you.”
They ask you to work on another pitch. You still haven’t been paid, but the last few months have been SO slow that it’s hard to turn down work when it comes in, so you reluctantly start work on the next job, without being paid for the last one.
While freelancing brings many benefits, there are challenges that come with remote freelance work as well. Unfortunately, not getting paid as a freelancer has been a common and recurrent issue that many encounter. In an effort to put an end to this, in 2017, NYC passed a law- “Freelance Isn’t Free Act” (FIFA)– in order to enforce timely and complete payment to the freelancer. Yet, determining whether or not you even qualify as a freelancer according to FIFA is a challenge. It can be hard to know exactly what rights you have as a freelancer. Even if you do, you might not be benefitting from the Act as much as you can.
A Freelancer is…
First, it is important to know exactly who qualifies as a freelance worker. The law defines a freelance worker as “any individual hired or retained as an independent contractor by a hiring party to provide services for compensation.”
So, What Are My Rights?
The Act states that a freelancer is entitled to:
(i) a written contract for any job/gig paying $800 or more within four months;
(ii) full pay within 30 days of completing the work; and
(iii) protection from retaliation for exercising your rights under the Act (such as filing a complaint). Any hiring party that fails to comply with the law will face penalties.
The Written Contract
The written contract between you and the hiring party must provide details of the job, specifying the date(s) and amount(s) of pay that the freelancer will earn for the performed services. As the independent contractor, it’s your responsibility to make sure that you understand each provision. You should never feel uncomfortable asking someone to clarify a contract — ask the hiring party directly, and/or check with your own lawyer.
Pay
In terms of payment, the hiring party is required to pay the freelancer by the contract’s exact terms. Payment must be timely and complete. If the contract does not specifically include a payment date for a specified task, then the agreed-upon date of pay is within 30 days upon the freelancer’s completion of the duty.
Breach of Contract & Compensatory Damages
Hypothetically, FIFA ensures that the freelancer is protected from mistreatment. Yet there are still cases in which the hiring party violates an independent contractor’s basic rights. So, what happens if they violate this law? If the hiring party fails to abide by FIFA’s written contract requirements, the hiring party is required to pay the freelancer $250. If the hiring party fails to pay the freelancer at all, the hiring party is required to pay the freelancer twice the value of the contract. If the freelancer is paid some value, but less than the promised amount, then the freelancer is entitled to double the unpaid amount of the work. Yet, a freelancer’s rights don’t stop there… if the hiring party violates the contract requirement AND fails to pay the freelancer at all, then the freelancer is owed triple damages! Further penalties are established through statutory damages, injunctive relief, and attorney’s fees.
Not only does this law establish a large deterrent for hiring parties who might violate a freelancer’s rights, but the law limits the chance of any negative consequences that the freelancer might potentially have faced through the law’s anti-blacklisting and freedom from retaliation provisions. Additionally, the Office of Labor Policy and Standards (OPUS) is there to validate the law’s principles and to help the freelancer in finding a lawyer, submitting a complaint form, or answering questions. In filing a complaint through OPUS, the court will recognize a presumption in favor of the freelancer, if the hiring party fails to respond to the complaint within 20 days. A presumption in favor of the freelancer is a huge advantage in court, as the case starts with the judge assuming that the hiring party violated the act.
We at Kahn Media Law want to make sure that you are not being taken advantage of. We recognize that this is still an issue and are committed to making sure that you understand FIFA in its entirety. We are always here to help whether you are facing challenges or have any questions. If you ever find yourself bwing taken advantage of by your employers, or you’re confused from ambiguous contracts… we will help you make sense of everything.
Fill out our “new client intake form” and we‘ll take care of the rest.