$500K settlement signals stronger enforcement of protections for freelancers

Freelance workers will receive more than $500,000 in restitution under a settlement between the city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection and a Manhattan-based production company that repeatedly failed to pay independent creatives on time, city officials announced Tuesday.

The $528,817 settlement with Splashlight follows an investigation launched after a wave of complaints from freelancers who said they were either not paid for completed work or received payment months after agreed deadlines, violating the city’s Freelance Isn’t Free Act.

Under the agreement, 350 freelancers who worked in New York City will receive compensation and damages. Workers who were never paid will receive full payment, while those who were paid late will receive additional compensation required under city law.

Officials said the investigation uncovered a pattern of delayed and missing payments affecting hundreds of self-employed creatives, underscoring the financial instability many freelance workers still face despite legal protections.

“Creative self-starters don’t just tell the story of New York City — they are the story of New York City — and their labor isn’t free,” DCWP Commissioner Sam Levine said in a statement. “We will continue using every tool available to ensure freelancers are paid on time and in full.”

The case represents one of the larger enforcement actions under the Freelance Isn’t Free Act, a landmark 2017 law that came after fierce lobbying from the Freelancers Union, a New York City–based nonprofit that advocates for independent workers while offering programs and partnership-based insurance benefits.

The law established basic protections for freelancers, including the right to written contracts, timely payment and protection from retaliation, while allowing the city to penalize companies that fail to comply. Hiring parties must pay freelancers by the date listed in a contract — or within 30 days of completed work if no payment deadline is specified.

In 2018, the city partnered with the Freelancers Union to open the Freelancers Hub at the Made in NY Media Center in Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighborhood, a shared workspace offering free equipment and resources for independent workers. At the time, officials estimated at least 400,000 full-time freelancers lived and worked across the five boroughs — a figure that grew to nearly 600,000 by 2025, according to Staffing Industry Analysts.

Freelance work has expanded rapidly nationwide as well. A 2023 study by the Freelancers Union and Upwork found that 64 million Americans — about 38 percent of the workforce — performed freelance work last year, contributing $1.27 trillion to the economy, or roughly 5 percent of U.S. GDP.

Since the Freelance Isn’t Free Act took effect, DCWP has received 4,832 complaints alleging violations, closed more than 4,300 cases and helped workers recover over $3.5 million in unpaid wages and damages, according to agency data.

The Splashlight settlement comes amid a broader push by the administration of Mayor Zohran Mamdani to strengthen enforcement of worker protection laws, particularly in industries reliant on contract and gig labor.

Earlier this year, DCWP announced that Uber Eats, Fantuan and HungryPanda agreed to pay a combined $5.2 million in restitution and penalties to more than 49,000 delivery workers over violations of the city’s minimum pay rate rules. The agency has also filed litigation against delivery platform Motoclick and issued compliance warnings to dozens of app-based companies, including Instacart, DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber, over expanded worker protection laws.

More recently, the department launched a new enforcement strategy tied to amendments expanding the city’s Protected Time Off Law, notifying roughly 56,000 employers of updated requirements and signaling it will pursue broader action when widespread violations are identified.