Posts tagged traditional employees
Op-ed: America must lead on the gig economy — or others will set the rules
June 10, 2025 // Look at California’s catastrophic Assembly Bill 5, which tried to reclassify most independent contractors as employees. Instead of improving livelihoods, it triggered chaos. Freelancers across media, transportation, tech, and the arts lost contracts overnight. Self-employment rates cratered. Only after a voter revolt and economic fallout did lawmakers scramble to undo the damage, carving out one exemption after another — a slow-motion admission that they had gone too far. Now, the ILO wants to make AB 5 the global gold standard for the gig economy.
Freelance Busting: Heart’s Desire
June 10, 2025 // Indeed found that 48% of women who switched to contract work reported improved mental health, and of the women who changed to gig work, one-third (38%) reported improved mental health. GrowTal/Opinium reported that 72% of women freelancers say their overall mental wellbeing has improved since freelancing. Freshbooks Cloud Accounting determined that 59% of self-employed women say they have less stress, and 57% of self-employed women say they’re healthier.
OPINION These new government contracting rules will put parents, caregivers, seniors out of work
March 12, 2024 // Many independent contractors we have engaged quit full-time positions to become caregivers. They sought opportunities like what we offer to stay engaged in their fields, have an intellectual outlet, and enjoy camaraderie with colleagues, while contributing to the family finances. They don’t want the pressure of short-term deadlines and in-person meetings; they don’t want to have to track time and explain about sick kids or field trips. Can we continue to offer these work relationships? Maybe, although the guidance that contractors cannot "perform similar work of employees" makes it fraught.