Posts tagged Modern Worker Empowerment Act
Kim Kavin: The Tangled Web
May 23, 2025 // I know how most writers’ minds work. I have a well-honed instinct for spotting a thread I should pull on because the facts might be tangled up in some kind of web. This hyperlink in Newsweek was a different kind of typo. The words “2020 analysis” actually did lead to a report about independent contractors—one that was written not in 2020, but instead in 2009. A wrong hyperlink of that nature is a red flag to any decent editor that there’s probably an association in the writer’s mind between the words in the hyperlink and where that link goes. Any experienced editor will pull on that thread to figure out if there’s an actual problem with the facts.
Committee on Education and the Workforce: Hearing Recap: “Empowering the Modern Worker”
May 21, 2025 // “The way people do work in America is changing,” said Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chairman Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) when he opened today’s hearing that discussed legislative solutions to protect independent contractors’ status and allow them to pursue certain benefits if they so choose.
Op-Ed: Rep. Kevin Kiley and Isabel Soto: The future of work is flexible
May 5, 2025 // At its core, the issue of independent work centers on the freedom for individuals to work as they choose, to support their families on their own terms, and to participate in the economy without being held back by outdated, stifling regulations. The Modern Worker Empowerment Act and The Modern Worker Security Act offer a commonsense alternative that safeguards this freedom. Congress must embrace policies that remove barriers to the modern labor market, not stifle the individual who wants to work. As the economy evolves, labor laws should support worker choice, economic participation, and innovation. These bills are a critical step forward and deserve broad bipartisan support.
Kim Kavin: Intent to Reconsider
April 8, 2025 // The federal government has indicated in court that it may rescind the Biden-Harris administration’s independent-contractor rule and undertake the process of new rule-making. Yesterday, the U.S. Labor Department filed a status report in one of several lawsuits against the Biden-Harris administration over its independent contractor rule. This status report was filed with regard to the Frisard case, whose plaintiff is represented by Liberty Justice Center and the Pelican Institute.
California: The Lost Report
April 1, 2025 // On December 3, 2020, almost a year after California’s freelance-busting law, Assembly Bill 5, went into effect, the California Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights was created to study AB5’s civil rights implications. The committee’s officially designated term ended December 4, 2024. There were hours and hours of testimony, much of it recorded on video. But the committee never issued a report based on all this testimony its members heard. Members of the committee say they were told that if they issued individual statements in the absence of any committee report, they would be failing to comply with the Federal Advisory Committee Act and the rules of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Bills Introduced in Congress Work to Secure the Right to Work for Independent Professionals
February 27, 2025 // On February 13, California Congressman Kevin Kiley (R) introduced two bills in the House of Representatives that seek to codify and protect independent professionals and contractors. In this 119th Congress, Paul has partnered with two key right-to-work organizations to reintroduce “The National Right to Work Act”: The Institute for the American Worker, and the National Right to Work Foundation.
Stefanik Re-Introduces the Modern Worker Empowerment Act to Protect Independent Contractors
September 15, 2023 // Congresswoman Elise Stefanik reintroduced the Modern Worker Empowerment Act, along with Congressman Kevin Kiley (CA-03) and Congresswoman Michelle Steel (CA-45), to update the Fair Labor Standards Act and the National Labor Relations Act to create a clear definition and standard across federal laws to protect independent workers. This comes as the Biden Administration’s Department of Labor is finalizing a new rule to create an obtuse multi-factor test that will undoubtedly lead to confusion for workers and take away opportunities from these individuals. With multitudes of differing state and federal statutes regulating independent contractors, the Modern Worker Empowerment Act will provide much needed clarity and stability for the American independent worker ensuring opportunities regardless of which state they reside.
BACKGROUNDER: Employee Rights Act
June 26, 2023 // Sponsored by Rick Allen (R-GA) The Employee Rights Act of 2025 safeguards and strengthens the rights of American workers. It guarantees workers’ right to a secret ballot election, ensures they can work directly with their employer if they opt-out of union membership, protects worker privacy, allows workers to choose to fund union politics or not, provides legal clarity for small business owners and independent contractors, and guarantees fair representation for all American workers.
How should lawmakers promote the flexible work arrangements workers and families need?
March 12, 2022 // “Workers should be free to seek employment opportunities that use their unique skills to contribute to society, and businesses should have the flexibility to offer choices to diverse potential workers and clients.”