NFIB has officially filed an amicus brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit concerning Minnesota's state law on the classification of independent contractors. The case is titled Minnesota Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., et al. v. Nicole Blissenbach.
Beth Milito, Vice President and Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center, commented on the statute saying, “This statute places small business owners in an impossible situation that disrupts every level of a contract, spreading harm and uncertainty to every individual involved in an independent contractor relationship.” She added that the regulation is challenging for small businesses to navigate, as it would require them to either hire specialists or classify all contractors as employees, which is financially burdensome. "NFIB urges the Court to stop enforcement of this harmful statute and provide much-needed clarity for Minnesota’s small businesses and independent contractors,” Milito stated.
The NFIB raised two main points in their brief. First, it argued that the Minnesota Legislature violated the state's "Single Subject and Title Clause" by passing this statute as part of a 1,400-page omnibus bill combining multiple subjects without proper discussion. Second, it highlighted that the law carries significant penalties for noncompliance, given its ambiguous classification standards, and warned about its potentially harmful impact on small businesses in Minnesota.
The NFIB Small Business Legal Center is actively involved in protecting small business rights in more than 40 cases across various courts including the U.S. Supreme Court.
