National Limousine Association and Limousine Association of New Jersey Applaud New Jersey Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney’s Fight for Fair Labor

The National Limousine Association (NLA) and the Limousine Association of New Jersey (LANJ) applaud New Jersey Senate President, Stephen M. Sweeney for his support in sponsoring the bill, S-863, which follows a suite of impactful bills signed into law January 20th, 2020 that aim to halt misclassification in labor. In an open letter below, on behalf of the membership and Board of the NLA and the LANJ, both organizations back Senate President Sweeney’s efforts to advocate for drivers deserving of employee status.

Dear Senate President Sweeney,

The National Limousine Association (NLA) was founded in 1985 to promote and protect the international, national and regional interests of chauffeured transportation. Similarly, the Limousine Association of New Jersey (LANJ) advocates that New Jersey operators are treated fairly by legislators, enforcement officers and governing bodies. Working in unison, our organizations strive towards the continued growth, development and prosperity of our members’ individual organizations, as well as the holistic health of the industry.

As New Jersey has long been a role model for worker’s rights and lawful employee classification, the NLA and the LANJ were pleased to see the package of assembly bills signed by Governor Phil Murphy that will fine employers knowingly misclassifying employees (A5839), enforce “stop-work orders” against those violating state wage, benefit or tax law (A5838), and require employers to post notice on misclassification (A5843). While these bills, among others, are certainly a step forward, we want to thank you for consistently standing up for our industry through your sponsorship of S-863. The passing of this necessary and impactful legislation demonstrates how critical it is that states and municipalities across that country enforce the “ABC Test” to level the playing field between the chauffeured transportation and ride-hailing industries.

All drivers who are free from control over the performance of a company, perform work outside the usual course of the business, and are customarily engaged in an independently established profession, should be considered independent contractors. Ride-hail transportation services such as Uber and Lyft clearly do not meet these requirements, and therefore should not be considered for a carve-out from S-863. We implore that your office keeps this in mind as these manipulative corporations use money to cheat their drivers out of rightful employee status and benefits. Likewise, the development of new technological platforms should not validate immunity from legislation intended to defend the rights of workers across the great state of New Jersey or the nation.

The NLA and LANJ will continue to defend its members and the private chauffeured transportation industry and we greatly appreciate your attention to this issue.

Thank you very much for your time.

Gary Buffo
Founder and President, Pure Luxury Transportation, Inc.
President, The National Limousine Association
Commissioner, Visit California
Secretary, California Travel Association
Board Member, San Francisco Travel
Board Member, Visit Napa Valley
Finance and Legal Committee, Sonoma County Tourism

Jason Sharenow
Chief Operating Officer Owner, Broadway Elite Chauffeured Services Worldwide
President, Limousine Association of New Jersey

ABOUT THE NLA:
The National Limousine Association is a non-profit organization responsible for and dedicated to representing the interests of the private driver transportation industry at the global, national, state, and local level. It is the unified voice of this industry – linking transportation industry professionals from owners and operators to suppliers, manufacturers, regional and state limousine associations. With more than 2,000 NLA members, the Association is committed to exceeding expectations with regards to professionalism, transportation efficiency and safe riding.

For additional information on the NLA, please visit www.limo.org.

ABOUT THE LANJ:
The Limousine Association of New Jersey is a non-profit association representing the chauffeured car industry in the state. Its membership is comprised of 150-member companies, representing over 90% of the registered chauffeured cars in New Jersey. The mission of the association is to advocate for its members to ensure a level playing field amongst all transportation platforms, and to educate its members on safety, state and federal regulations, as well as best practices for running a licensed and properly insured business.