The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development has adopted new regulations for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee.

The statutory test, which is commonly referred to as the “ABC Test,” sets out three provisions that a presumed employer must satisfy to rightfully classify someone as an independent contractor. While the department has already been utilizing the ABC Test to classify independent contractors, the new rules, effective October 1, 2026, formalize the DOL’s interpretation of the test and demonstrate the state’s growing interest in addressing issues of worker misclassification.

Under the three-pronged ABC Test, workers performing services for compensation are recognized to be employees unless the presumed employer can demonstrate that:

Prong A: The individual has been and will continue to be free from control or direction over the performance of services, both under their contract and in fact,

Prong B: The service is either outside the usual course of the business or outside all the places of business of the enterprise, and

Prong C: The individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession or business.

The burden of proof for the classification determination rests on the employer. If the presumed employer is unable to satisfy any one of the three prongs, the person in question is deemed an employee.

The New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association is receiving reports of increased scrutiny of businesses misclassifying employees by the DOL. Now, having been made aware of funeral homes undergoing an audit by the state to ensure classification compliance, we anticipate more audits under the new regulations. It is vital that you examine your current workforce against the ABC Test or risk significant fines from the state for misclassification.

Outlined below are detailed descriptions of each prong of the ABC Test and the factors that an investigator may utilize during an audit to determine classification. It is important to note the new rule explicitly lays out that these factors are not exhaustive and should not be utilized as a checklist, rather a guide to help employers reach the correct conclusion for classification. If audited, the DOL evaluates the entire relationship between the presumed employer and the worker(s) in question to determine classification compliance.

Prong A: Freedom from Control or Direction (N.J.A.C. 12:11-1.3)

The rules outline a multi-factor review for evaluating whether a worker is free from control or direction of an employer. To successfully meet the criteria of Prong A, the presumed employer must show both that it has not exercised control or direction over the worker’s performance and that it has not reserved the right to do so.

The rules detail nine factors to be considered in the Prong A analysis, including:

• Whether the individual is required to work set hours or jobs
• Whether the presumed employer has the right to control the details and means of performance
• Whether the services must be rendered personally
• Whether the presumed employer negotiates for and acquires the services
• Whether the individual’s rate of pay is fixed by the presumed employer
• Whether the individual bears any risk of loss
• Whether the individual is required to be on call or on standby at set times
• Whether the presumed employer limits the individual’s ability to perform services for others
• Whether the presumed employer provides training

Consider this scenario as it pertains to funeral service:

Prong A Fail: You contract with a trade embalmer to perform an embalming in your funeral home. The trade embalmer uses the funeral home’s equipment, chemicals and preparation space to perform the service at a set date and time to have the decedent ready for the family’s viewing. This is likely to fail Prong A’s test, and the trade embalmer would be considered an employee.

Prong A Pass: You contract with an electrical company to run new wiring for additional outlets in the office. This would most likely pass Prong A as the electrician uses their own tools and the services can be rendered by any licensed electrician sent by the electrical company.

Prong B: Outside the Usual Course of Business or Places of Business (N.J.A.C. 12:11-1.4)

To determine whether the worker’s services are outside the presumed employer’s “usual course of business,” the rules consider activities that the employer regularly engages in to generate revenue or develop, produce, sell, market or provide goods or services, and that an entity may have more than one usual course of business.

To determine whether the services are performed outside the “places of business” of the business for which it performs, the rules refer to locations where the business has a physical location or conducts an integral part of its business.

Again, the DOL maintains that each situation will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and industry-specific circumstances will be considered.

Consider this scenario as it pertains to funeral service:

Prong B Fail: Jane Smith regularly cosmetizes and styles hair at the funeral home for decedents. Cosmeticizing and hairstyling are normal processes of funeral service, therefore Jane would most likely be considered an employee under Prong B.

Prong B Pass: You contract with a caterer to provide food and drink during a visitation or a service. The restaurants services of obtaining, cooking and delivering are performed outside the funeral home’s place of business and therefore would likely pass Prong B.

Prong C: Independently Established Trade, Occupation, Profession or Business (N.J.A.C. 12:11-1.5)

Under the adopted rules, the Prong C analysis focuses on seven non-exhaustive factors, including:

• The duration, strength and viability of the individual’s business, independent of the presumed employer
• The number of customers and volume of business from each
• The amount of remuneration from the presumed employer compared to remuneration from others in the same industry
• The number of employees of the individual’s business
• The extent of the individual’s investment in their own tools, equipment, vehicles, buildings, infrastructure and other resources
• Whether the individual sets their own rate of pay
• Whether the individual advertises, maintains a visible business location and is available to work in the relevant market

The rules also codify several principles that employers should pay close attention to:

• Multiple jobs are insufficient to establish independent contractor status.
• Licensure alone is insufficient.
• Business registration is not decisive.
• Maintaining insurance is not decisive.
• Reporting earnings on a 1099 form rather than a W-2 does not transform an employee into an independent contractor.
• A written contract labeling an individual as an independent contractor is not decisive.
• Other factors that may be considered in determining the weight given to such an agreement include whether there was an imbalance in bargaining power, whether the agreement was one of adhesion, whether the employer reserved the right to unilaterally modify terms, and whether either party could terminate the agreement at any time.
• The fact that an individual would not qualify for unemployment benefits based on earnings does not affect whether the individual is an independent contractor.

Consider this scenario as it pertains to funeral service:

Prong C: A trade person who maintains multiple funeral home accounts and who can prepare remains in your funeral home or elsewhere and receives payment from multiple establishments in addition to yours would most likely pass Prong C.

However, a person who has a license, has been issued a mortuary registration, is properly insured and receives a 1099 from you each year for services, who only embalms for your funeral home in your funeral home would not pass Prong C.

These new regulations create a strong presumption that many workers in the industry are employees and failure to recognize them as such can carry significant fines for misclassification.

Funeral home employers engaging independent contractors such as; drivers, pallbearers, porters, door people, cantors, soloists, organists, musicians, hair dressers, trade people and the like should take proactive steps now, along with their accountants and/or legal counsel, to ensure compliance by auditing existing contractor relationships against the ABC Test, as employee misclassification carries exposure to unpaid contributions, penalties and litigation costs.

Click here for more information on the new rules set to take effect October 1, 2026.

Compliance Help is Available

For funeral homes, help is available when it comes to complying with the ever-expanding employment laws in New Jersey.

Thanexus, Inc., the nation’s only funeral practice management cooperative, provides the guidance to deal with risk management, employment law compliance, payroll and taxes, human resource guidance and funeral-home-specific Federal Trade Commission and state regulatory compliant marketing materials.

“Owners of small businesses such as funeral homes, have enough to worry about without the added stresses of payroll, benefit administration and compliance in the context of our rapidly changing employment laws around independent contractors and employee misclassification, said Thanexus, Inc. President George R. Kelder Jr., CFSP. “As the burdens of being an employer expand, more funeral homes should consider the solutions found within Thanexus.”

For 26 years, Thanexus has seamlessly delivered a turn-key human resource solution that is member-owned, self-governed and democratically controlled, focusing funeral directors on what they do best–running funerals and serving families.”

For more information about joining Thanexus as a shareholder, contact Jonathan C. Krowicki at 888-309-5137.

George R. Kelder Jr., CFSP

As we mark the 250th anniversary of the founding of our country, we are reminded that it is also the 124th anniversary of the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association (and the 45th anniversary of Funeral Planning CHOICES, the New Jersey Prepaid Funeral Trust Fund).

Milestones like these naturally invite reflection where we look back, compare them to now and marvel at how much has changed.

In 1776, a trip from New Jersey to Philadelphia could take a full day. Today, we complain if traffic adds 10 minutes to our commute. In 1902, when this association was founded, automobiles were still a novelty, horse-drawn vehicles were common and air travel belonged to the imagination. Today, families routinely come together for funerals from across the world.

Communication has transformed just as dramatically. The founders of this nation relied on handwritten letters that traveled at the speed of a horse. In 1902, the telephone was still making its way into everyday life. Today, a message can circle the globe in seconds and families can livestream services to be watched from thousands of miles away.

Technology has changed nearly every aspect of daily life. Healthcare has extended life expectancy and conquered diseases that once devastated entire communities. The tools available to funeral directors today would seem unimaginable to our predecessors.

Funeral service itself has evolved repeatedly. Methods of disposition have expanded. Merchandise has changed. Documentation has expanded beyond handwritten leather-bound ledgers and typewriters into digital applications. The industry has adapted to shifting cultural expectations, regulatory changes and technological advances.

But when we talk about tradition, it is worth asking a simple question: What, exactly, has endured?

Not embalming. Not horse-drawn hearses. Not copper, bronze or mahogany caskets. Not multiple days of visitation.

The things that often dominate discussions about tradition are frequently the very things that have changed the most.

What has endured is something much simpler and much more important. At the time of death, people still need people.

We need to gather. We need to remember. We need to mourn. We need support from family, friends, neighbors, clergy and trusted funeral directors when loss leaves us uncertain about what comes next.

Methods change. Expectations evolve. Technology advances. Yet the fundamental human need for connection during times of loss remains remarkably unchanged.

The founders of this country were not trying to preserve the status quo. They were attempting something radical: building something better. Likewise, the undertakers and embalmers who established this association in 1902 were not protecting 124 years of tradition–they were creating it.

There is an irony in how often "tradition" is invoked as a reason not to change. The individuals who created many of the traditions we celebrate today were often the disruptors of their time. They saw shortcomings in existing systems and worked to improve them. They embraced innovation when it served families and strengthened their communities.

The men and women who built this nation did not celebrate 250 years of history. They created the first day.

The funeral directors who founded this association did not preserve 124 years of tradition. They invested in a future they would never see.

Their challenge is ours as the caretakers of their vision.

For generations, American families have passed down stories of military service, immigration, hardship, sacrifice, faith and perseverance. Long before there were historians, there were families. Long before there were monuments, there were funerals.

The tale of America has always been told one story at a time.

Funeral directors are often among the last people entrusted with those stories before they become history. We hear them during arrangement conferences. We see them in photographs placed beside urns. We hear them again during visitations, services and gatherings where families remember a life that mattered.

For 124 years, the NJSFDA has helped funeral directors carry that responsibility.

Buildings change. Business models change. Laws and regulations change. Technology certainly changes.

But people still need guidance when grief arrives. They still need someone to help them navigate uncertainty. They still need opportunities to gather, remember and support one another. That truth has endured longer than any regulation, any association document, any funeral home or any business model.

And if history teaches us anything, it is that it will likely endure long after all of these things change again.

Ryan Buckland, President

There is a particular kind of silence that settles over a funeral home after the last car has pulled out of the lot.

The flowers have been gathered up. The guest book sits closed on the table by the door. And in that quiet, after the family has gone home to begin the long work of living without someone, the funeral director is often left alone with a question that rarely gets spoken out loud. Was it worth it?

I have asked myself this more times than I can count. Not in a moment of doubt about the work itself, but in the deeper places where a person measures the weight of a life against the cost of living it. Funeral service asks something of us that few other vocations demand. We absorb sorrow that is not our own. We carry the weight of a hundred goodbyes a year, sometimes more, and we are expected to set that weight down gently enough each time so we can pick the next one up without dropping either family.

So the question comes. Was it worth it? Was the missed dinner worth it? Was the call that came at three in the morning worth it? Were the years of training, the careful study of grief and ritual and the human heart, worth the toll it takes on our own hearts?

And beneath that question lives another, quieter and more dangerous. Am I worth it? Am I worth the trust a widow places in me when she hands over her husband of 50 years and asks me to make him look like himself again? Am I worth the confidence of a mother who cannot speak, who simply nods when I tell her we will take care of everything? There are nights when the answer feels far away, when exhaustion makes us strangers to our own worth.

I have come to believe these questions are not signs of weakness. They are signs of conscience. A person who never asks whether their work matters has likely stopped paying attention to the people in front of them. The questions themselves are proof that we have not gone numb. They are proof that every casket we close still costs us something.

Is my being here making a difference? This is the question that, for me, sits closest to the center of the calling. Funeral directors do not often get to see the fruit of their labor. We do not receive letters years later describing how a child grew up whole because we handled a father's homegoing with dignity. We rarely hear that a young man's grief eventually became something he could carry without breaking because someone showed him, in the worst week of his life, that his loved one mattered enough to be cared for with excellence. The difference we make is mostly invisible to us. It lives in rooms we are never invited back into.

Howard Thurman wrote that we must "let the inward sea find its own level and trust the stillness that lies beneath our doing.” I return to those words often. They remind me that the value of this work cannot be measured by what we see in the moment. It must be trusted, the way a farmer trusts a seed he will not live to see become a tree.

I think of the families who could not find words, only tears, and how a steady hand and an unhurried presence said what no eulogy could. I think of the times grief ministry and funeral service met in the same room, where a pastoral word and a careful preparation worked together to help a family begin to heal. In those moments I did not need an answer to whether it was worth it. The answer was simply present, sitting quietly in the room with us.

Was it worth it? I no longer ask this question hoping for a final answer. I ask it in the way a person checks their compass on a long journey, not because they doubt the path but because they want to stay true to it. Every funeral director who has stood in that quiet room after the family has gone home knows this tension well. The questions never fully leave. But neither does the calling.

And perhaps that is the clearest answer available to us. We keep showing up. We keep caring for the dead with reverence and the living with compassion. And in that faithful showing up, again and again, across the years, the worth of the work reveals itself, not in a single moment, but in a whole life given over to serving grief with grace.

Mortuaries in France are overwhelmed as an extended heat wave kills thousands in Europe, and a similar situation is unfolding in Venezuela as the country seeks to recover from powerful earthquakes. Meanwhile, in England, officials are trying to unravel the mystery of cremated remains that were left at a food truck near a racetrack. These stories and more are in the week in funeral news.

NEWS

Europe’s Record Heat Has Overwhelmed Paris Mortuaries and Left Families in Distress
By John Leicester and Jeffrey Schaeffer (Associated Press)
Every few minutes, the mortuary owner’s phone rings. Since a record-smashing heat wave started taking lives and storage space for bodies in Paris and beyond, the funeral directors and mourning families calling him mostly have the same question: Do you have room for one more? With all 32 places in his cold room taken, Zouhaeir Hertelli reluctantly must gently say “Non,” over and over and over again. “We’re facing a really catastrophic situation,” he said. “I’m getting hundreds of calls.” Read more here.

Mortuary in Caracas “Overwhelmed” as Venezuela Struggles to Respond After Earthquakes
By Clavel Rangel and Tom Phillips (The Guardian)
The bodies turn up on motorcycles, in the backs of cars or the load beds of pickup trucks: victims of a natural disaster that has shaken an already fragile nation to its core. Read more here.

Casket-Wrapping Service Customizes the Burial Experience
By Laurie Perez (CBS News)
There's a growing trend in the funeral industry called casket wrapping, which offers decked-out, decorated coffins. One couple shares how they blend creativity with compassion through their business, Parting Wishes, helping families fulfill their loved ones' wishes. Read more here.

Cultural Attitudes Toward Affordable Funerals Are Gradually Changing
By April D. Lee (WSB)
Funerals can cost thousands, but more families are realizing that honoring a life doesn't always require high expenses. Many now choose very affordable funeral options like cremation, direct burial, green burial, or smaller memorials that still reflect care and dignity. Read more here.

The Oldest Evidence of Mourning Rituals Reveals Paleolithic Communities Grieved Like We Do
By Layla Tiseo (The Conversation
Roughly 27,500 years ago, a 15-year-old boy was brutally mauled by a bear in Arene Candide in what is now Liguria, Italy. The attack tore through his jaw, neck and left shoulder. He was dying, but he was not alone in his final moments. Instead, his community carried him to a cave, packed his wounds and stayed with him for days until he died. Then they laid him on a bed of red ochre (a natural clay pigment) and buried him. Read more here.

The Curious Case of the Cremation Ashes Left at Newbury Racecourse Burger Van
By Esther Addley (The Guardian)
It is a puzzling story with a still unsolved mystery at its heart: Just who is the individual whose cremated remains were left on the counter of a burger van at Newbury racecourse in England? And why–despite the cremation urn being labelled with a name and a message that hints at a loving family–has no one come forward to claim it? Read more here.

Natural organic reduction is officially legal in the State of New Jersey as of July 1, 2026, bringing new business opportunities to funeral homes across the state and a new option for consumers when it comes to their death care.

After years of engagement and research with operating NOR facilities in the United States and abroad, feedback from legislators, and input from industry stakeholders, the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association has been actively involved in helping legislators craft the bill, pass the law and propose the regulations. Now, it is time to educate our members on this new facet of the industry in New Jersey.

Here are a few ways that you can learn more about NOR as the association works with the state to implement this new treatment of the body.

Powered by Nature, Approved by Law: An NOR Panel Discussion

At the 2026 Funeral Directors Convention and Expo in Atlantic City, NJSFDA Executive Director and CEO George R. Kelder Jr., CFSP, and Director of Government Affairs Samantha L. Link will moderate a panel with four natural organic reduction facility operators currently serving families in the Pacific Northwest and Europe.

This is a unique opportunity to hear directly from the individuals who pioneered this new treatment of the body and gain insight into the business end of NOR, what the process entails, and what they hear from their consumers as to why they choose NOR.

These four NOR companies will also have a presence in our Convention Exhibit Hall, giving members the opportunity to create partnerships with existing facilities to best serve families seeking out NOR when visiting their funeral home.

Panelists for this event include:

• Richard Benton, co-founder of Earth Funeral located in Washington
• Micah Truman, CEO of Return Home located in Washington
• Jenna Wheatley, care center supervisor at The Natural Funeral located in Colorado

• Pablo Metz, co-founder of Mein Erde located in Germany

Don’t miss this opportunity to network directly with those actively performing natural organic reduction to discover how to incorporate NOR into your business model.

You can register for the Convention, to be held from September 15 to September 17 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City here.

Natural Organic Reduction in New Jersey: CE Webinar (Also a Pre-Convention Live Seminar)

The New Jersey Funeral Service Education Corporation has created a new on-demand webinar. Natural Organic Reduction in New Jersey is designed to prepare you for the inevitable questions that you may receive from the families that you serve.

While you may not provide NOR services physically at your funeral home, learning the basics of the process, costs and timeline will help you guide families who are considering their options. The course also discusses how you can offer NOR to your consumers by using a third-party NOR facility–much like you would a third-party crematory.

Natural Organic Reduction in New Jersey will also be offered as a live in-person seminar on September 15, 2026 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City during the in-person continuing education day before the annual Convention.

Ensure that you are educated on NOR while obtaining a continuing education law credit by registering for this essential primer of New Jersey’s new NOR law.

To register for the on-demand webinar, click here. To register for the in-person seminar in September, click here.

How Does the Public View NOR?

Natural organic reduction has garnered significant interest from consumers in the state as well as media attention. Anecdotally, NOR facilities in the Pacific Northwest say that New Jersey has been one of the states with the largest number of decedents being flown to the West Coast to have NOR performed, so New Jersey consumers are interested.

Now, consumers do not have to ship a decedent thousands of miles to honor their wish for natural organic reduction. NOR can now be performed right here in New Jersey and Maryland, keeping the decedent close to home and the costs lower for families and making the process more accessible to a broader range of consumers.

Upon the governor’s signature of the natural organic reduction law in September 2025, the NJSFDA received many press inquiries seeking to learn more about the process and educate the public.

NJSFDA Director of Government Affairs Samantha L. Link provided interviews to several outlets on the association’s involvement in this legislation, what the NOR process entails and what is driving consumers toward this new option in death care.

Watch/listen:

Good Day Philadelphia - FOX29
National Public Radio
ABC 6 News
KYW Radio
WHYY Radio

What Questions Still Remain?

Governor Phil Murphy signed the natural organic reduction bill into law on September 11, 2025, which began a 10-month runway for the State Board of Mortuary Science of New Jersey to promulgate the regulations surrounding this law prior to its implementation. On September 15, 2025, the NJSFDA sent the Board our drafted regulatory recommendations based on the regulations of the states that have successfully implemented NOR. However, as of this publication, regulations have yet to be adopted by the Board.

In essence, the natural organic reduction law is a permissibility law, meaning that it essentially allows for natural organic reduction to take place in New Jersey. The details of NOR will be found in the regulations. There are significant questions that will be answered by the regulations including where the product of NOR can and cannot be placed, what are the requirements of a New Jersey-located NOR facility and what product testing requirements the state sets forth.

For the Board to adopt regulations, they must draft the regulations, which are then reviewed by a regulatory analyst at the Office of the Attorney General. The Board then must allow for public comments on the proposed regulations. Following that period, the Board must then respond to the public comments and make any changes they see necessary. Finally the Board must vote on the final regulations.

As it stands, and according to the state Board, the proposed regulations are in the hands of the regulatory analyst and awaiting public notice. At this time, the NJSFDA has yet to see a copy of the proposed regulations and is therefore unaware whether the association’s recommendations will be accepted by the Board in part or in totality. In the case of a law becoming effective absent regulations, the statute itself serves as the active law.

The NJSFDA remains actively involved in motivating the Division of Consumer Affairs and the governor’s office for the timely release of these regulations and will continue to publish updates in The FORUM.

If you have questions, you can contact the Manager of the Day at 800.734.3712, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or via email at njsfda@njsfda.org.

New Jersey funeral homes are required to submit an annual Regulated Medical Waste generator report by July 21, 2026, a deadline set by state regulation.

Since 2022, the state has mandated that the reports be filed electronically, and no paper copies will be accepted.

Generators of more than 200 pounds of regulated medical waste each year are required by state law to submit the RMW generator report, but even funeral homes that produce fewer than 200 pounds (considered Category 1 and Category 2 generators) must submit an abbreviated report. The reporting period is from June 22, 2025 to June 21, 2026.

Those who have filled out the online report previously should find the process familiar.

“No changes have been made to the reporting system or the report documents,” according to the state’s website.

For those unfamiliar with the process, the state has provided an instructional video on filling out and submitting the RMW report. The video can be found here. Also, a list of frequently asked questions concerning the report can be found here.

To file the generator reports, funeral homes will need their myNewJersey site login (the same login used to access VERI-NJ). This login will be used on the DEP Online Business Portal. Reminder: Your myNewJersey account must be for an individual and not a business entity. If you do not have an online account, click here to create one.

If you do not have an account, detailed instructions on how to register can be found here.

IMPORTANT: Funeral directors will not be able to file the RMW generator report if they are using Microsoft Internet Explorer. They must use either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, preferably the latest versions of those browsers.

By regulations, the burden of proof is upon each funeral home that generates RMW. See the Burden of Proof provisions at N.J.A.C. 7:26-1.13(a). Through the execution and certification of the electronic submission, funeral homes can annually and easily satisfy the burden of proof requirement.

If you have specific questions regarding the submission of your 2025 RMW Annual Generator Report, please contact the NJ Department of Environmental Protection–RMW Report Unit via email at rmwgeneratorannualreports@dep.nj.gov or call 609.292.7081 and press 4 at the prompt.