Jobs

Supporters of a bill designed to clamp down on wage theft for freelancers rally before a hearing Monday, New York City Hall, Feb. 29, 2016. Pictured before the podium, Councilman Ben Kallos and Freelancers Union chief Sara Horowitz.

Under the current proposal, New York City-based freelancers who are not paid on time would have rights to pursue back pay that are comparable to those of traditional employees. First, the bill would require anyone who hires an independent contractor for $200 or more to create a written contract specifying the kind of work to be done and the payment date. It would then require workers to be compensated within 30 days of the specified payment date, or of the contractor completing the service, whichever comes first.

Councilman Ben Kallos, Chair of the Governmental Operations Committee, followed up on a slight uptick in provisional hiring discussed during a budget hearing two weeks earlier.

To comply with the 2007 Long Beach decision by the state Court of Appeals that limited provisional appointments to nine months, the Bloomberg administration created a five-year plan to reduce the number of provisionals by 8,600. That plan was extended in 2014, and Ms. Camilo said she anticipated another extension. “That was always the intention when we submitted the initial one,” she said, though she declined to speculate on how long the deferment would be.

There were 22,954 city employees who hadn’t taken civil-service exams at the time the plan began. They were reduced to 21,416 in December 2014, but rose to 23,052 in the most recent count. Though DCAS gave 290 exams over the past two years—a record high for the agency—the de Blasio administration continued to hire provisionals to meet pressing needs.

“The city is faced with a number of operational challenges that it must meet on a daily basis,” Ms. Camilo said. “The city continues to hire to address the fulfillment of mandates and new priorities.”

She said there was “substantial headway” in reaching its goal. Lists for the Administrative Manager and Administrative Staff Analyst, once they are published later this year, should substanially reduce the number of provisionals.

"When there aren't public postings, that's a good indication there may be patronage involved, or worse yet conflicts of interest," Kallos said. "New Yorkers would know about the 350,000 jobs the city has, and the city could expand its pool of qualified applicants," Kallos said.