Posts tagged AB5
Independent Work Offers Hope for Financial Security for Women 50+
March 5, 2024 // “I have friends who are struggling in retirement because they lost good jobs at age 50 and could never find another career position despite years of job searching.” A 2017 field study bears this out. Conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the study revealed a 47% lower callback rate for older female applicants than young female applicants aged 29 to 31 years. For sales jobs, the callback rate was 36% lower for older female applicants. Because independent contracting is vital to keeping pre-retirement women attached to the workforce, it defies logic that legislators insist on stifling the very independent career opportunities that help these women supplement their income, stay active, and maintain a sense of purpose.
Commentary: Julie Su again headed toward DOL confirmation, trucking still opposed
February 28, 2024 // "No matter how many times she’s renominated, Julie Su’s record remains a huge red flag for our industry and any senator concerned about radical policies from California becoming federal law," said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. "The independent contractor rule she just finalized as acting secretary undermines the livelihoods of 350,000 professional truck drivers across our country who choose to run their own small businesses, and she needs to answer for it."
Commentary: New Research Exposes Flaws in California’s Independent Contractor Law
February 28, 2024 // The theory behind both AB-5 and the DOL’s recently finalized regulation for classifying independent contractors or employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act is the same: by making it harder to maintain independent contractor relationships, independent contractors will be converted into traditional employees. The Mercatus study suggests this theory has failed in California. The question is whether DOL has learned anything from that example.
10 Questions Julie Su Is Afraid to Answer in Front of the American People
February 27, 2024 // Under the rule of Chairman Bernie Sanders, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee will instead hold a closed-door executive session to rubber-stamp Su’s nomination. It does not appear that Senators will have any opportunity to question the nominee––in fact, she likely won’t even be required to appear in person. Moreover, as the HELP website states, “There is no video broadcast for this event.”
Op-ed: Watch out — California’s damaging gig workers law is going nationwide
February 20, 2024 // The rule is slated to take effect on March 10. U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) have both declared they will use the Congressional Review Act to have this rule rescinded. Previous legislation has been tendered in support of small businesses and the self-employed. The “Fight for Freelancers” group of female writers and editors has filed a lawsuit challenging this rule, which serves to appease Big Labor in the same manner as AB5.
Flexibility is no longer just a perk; it’s the crown jewel of employment
February 14, 2024 // A striking 78 percent of American workers say flexibility in their job is “one of the most or a very important” factor in looking for a job
Collateral Damage in the War on ‘Gig Work’
February 12, 2024 // A new Department of Labor rule regarding independent contractors is likely to hurt overall employment.
California fast food workers form statewide union
February 11, 2024 // The union comes at a time when fast food wages and pricing are top of mind in California. A $20-dollar minimum wage takes effect in April. And a backlash to meal price increases has caused viral anger online.
OPINION: Biden’s war on working women
February 5, 2024 // But given the administration’s bent toward categorizing workers as employees (in an effort to ramp up unionization), the prospects of retaining their independent status look bleak for the nation’s 70+ million independent workers. Over half of freelancers are women. They earn full-time, part-time, or occasional incomes through various occupations that include—but are not limited to—the gig economy. Think about virtual assistants, marketing professionals, transcriptionists, makeup artists, entertainers, and medical assistants. SEE ALSO Goodbye, wage gap. Hello, partner gap. As true take-home-pay equality looms, psychologists warn it could interfere with women’s evolutionary drive to seek out a partner who provides. Women ultimately may pay the price for finally earning as much as men They depend on flexibility to work around their priorities, such as raising families, caring for aging parents and sick spouses, or managing their own illnesses and disabilities.
Let’s Address the Real Challenges for Independent Contractors and Gig Workers
February 5, 2024 // Self-employment fell by 10.5 percent on average for non-exempt occupations, while overall employment fell by 4.4 percent on average for non-exempt occupations Occupations with a greater prevalence of self-employed workers saw greater reductions in both self-employment and overall employment In other words, on average, 1 in 10 self-employed individuals may have lost self-employment opportunities in California among occupations not exempt from AB5, while there is no evidence of an accompanying increase in traditional employment opportunities among workers in non-exempt occupations.