Articles and Op-Eds

We are America’s independent contractors, and we are terrified

As published in The Hill: “This entire push is terrifyingly detached from reality. Study after study shows 70 percent to 85 percent of independent contractors are just plain happier this way. Some 60 percent said in the thick of 2020s pandemic problems that no amount of money would get them to take a traditional job.” … Read more…

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PRO Act and ABC Test

As published by Forbes: “Experts in tax law as well as labor law attorneys representing both employers and employees have all told me that the legislation will potentially clash with existing laws in many ways. Untangling that could require years of court cases, potentially endanger the ability of many long-established independent contractors to continue their businesses, and even possibly hurt many people supporters claim it will help.” … Read more …

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PPP vs. PRO: A textbook case of cognitive dissonance in Washington

As published in The Hill: The truth is that Americans like me need to be saved not by, but from deeply misguided ABC Test legislation. Any lawmaker who agrees with making PPP better for small-business owners now, and who agrees that nonemployer firms like mine are important to the U.S. economy going forward, must also vote no on ABC Test laws like the PRO Act. … Read more …

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Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) acknowledges “independent contractors are not all the same”

As reported in The Washington Post: “We know that independent contractors are not all the same — some are misclassified or would prefer to be treated as full-time employees, while others genuinely prefer to be independent contractors and use this kind of work to supplement other employment,” Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) said in a statement. “My position has simply been that a one-size-fits-all model that locks you into benefits with one employer might not work for everyone and, frankly, doesn’t work all that well right now for people that want to either try something new or start their own business. We should be testing different strategies at the local level and uncovering what works best for workers long-term.” … Read more …

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Stop Drafting Independent Contractor Legislation without Giving Independent Contractors a Seat at the Table

As reported by Law360: “The position in the Biden plan on independent contractors is not only confusing but also seems to have ignored the position of one of the key stakeholders: the freelancers themselves. Seeking to change the test in order to curtail independent contractor relationships and instead promote the employment of freelancers appears to be out of touch with the overwhelming preference of those service providers.” … Read more …

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California’s Prop 22 Victory is a Stinging rebuke of AB5, which tried to force companies using independent contractors to reclassify them as employees

As reported by NBC News THINK: “The passage of Prop 22 teaches us that if lawmakers won’t listen to the valid concerns of independent contractors the easy way, by giving us an equal seat at the table and crafting reasonable legislation that protects us along with traditional employees, they will be forced to listen the hard way, as laws like AB5 are publicly gutted at the ballot box.” … Read more …

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I Don’t Want To Be Anybody’s Employee

As reported in Reason: “They all say their stance is about protecting workers, even though California’s example has taught us that such regulations cripple huge swaths of the middle class, denying people the flexibility they want and the cash flow they need. And flexibility and cash flow will both be all the more important as COVID-19 forces many of us to change the way we work.”… READ MORE

Articles and Op-Eds

Is Anyone Actually Editing The New York Times Editorial Page?

As reported on DailyKos: Nothing has changed for Uber drivers in California since the legislation went into effect six months ago. What has happened, instead, is a drawn-out legal battle between Uber and the state while thousands of other Californians are being thrown out of work in more than 300 professions documented so far — none of which The Times even bothered to mention, if the editors even realized it is happening at all. … READ MORE…