True story. Many, many years ago, I did some freelance work for a minor league sports website called MinorLeagueNews.com. There was lots of promise of payment for my work, and all that “talk” amounted to nothing in my pocket. Apparently they also violated a few rules regarding reprinting photographs on their website without compensation or permission, and personally, no tears were shed when I heard the company went belly-up.
That being said … freelancers and independent contractors have to prepare themselves for every single contingency and situation, especially when it comes to payment for work completed. In legal terms, there is an “expressed contract” and an “implied contract,” wherein an express contract is an exchange of promises between parties (i.e., Mr. Greenfield will pay Debbie for intimacy), and an implied contract is a completion by one party of an agreement (Debbie provides intimacy after understanding that Mr. Greenfield will provide compensation).
But too many freelancers and independent contractors in New York get stiffed and scammed. “Oh, I don’t have the money this month, maybe I’ll have it next month.” “I’m waiting for someone to pay me, once I get that, you’ll get paid next.” Stuff like that.
Well, as of yesterday, New York now has the “Freelance Isn’t Free Act,” which is designed to protect freelancers and independent contractors from exploitation and swindle. A link to the bill itself can be found here.
So what does this all mean?
Independent contractors and freelancers (with the exception of medical professionals, legal professionals and sales professionals) can enter into contracts with providing parties and, if those contracts aren’t honored, can sue to receive compensation for their lost earnings.
There’s even a downloadable, fillable-PDF contract (available here) that both parties can fill out and submit to the Department of Labor.
Trust me, I’ve been down this route. While many organizations and publications and entities will pay promptly for work performed, there have been times when I’ve had to go cap-in-hand to some entities and request what is owed me. Sometimes I get it, sometimes I don’t. And those actions determine whether I work for that company or entity ever again.
The days of “Chuck doing nice to help a struggling business out” disappeared a long, long time ago. If you hire me, I will do the work – and then after I’ve done the work, then you pay me for what I’ve done. This is our agreement. And now, it’s available as a fill-in PDF.
Your skills are marketable. Don’t let someone use them for free.
Chuck The Writer 