Dems introduce legislation to kill the gig economy, destroy millions of jobs

[mystery-ak]

February 15, 2021
Dems introduce legislation to kill the gig economy, destroy millions of jobs
By Thomas Lifson

Democrats and their labor union big money donors hate the gig economy, where people work as independent contractors, doing as much or as little work as they wish, setting their own hours, providing their own workspace and equipment, and getting paid in full directly with no fringe benefits. There are roughly 10.6 million independent contractors in the US today, and labor unions want them changed into prospects for unionization by forcing them and their employers to revert to full-time employee status, with less flexibility, much higher overhead and non-cash compensation costs.

California, a one-party state dominated by Democrats, tried to force such change on its own workforce by passing a similar bill, AB 5, with disastrous results in term of public revulsion:

    California Assembly Bill 5 (AB5), popularly known as the “gig worker bill,” is a piece of legislation that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2020, and required companies that hire independent contractors to reclassify them as employees, with some exceptions. AB5 was designed to regulate companies that hire gig workers in large numbers, such as Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash.

    Following controversy over the bill, the Calif. legislature passed Assembly Bill 2257 in Sept. 2020, which exempts a long list of job categories from AB5. On Nov. 3, 2020 California voters approved Proposition 22, an initiative backed by Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash that legally designates drivers for app-based ride-hailing and delivery apps as independent contractors.

more
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/02/dems_introduce_legislation_to_kill_the_gig_economy_destroy_millions_of_jobs_.html

[PeteS in CA]

AB-5's target were "ride-sharing" outfits like Uber and Lyft. The major reason was because Uber and Lyft were devastating large cities' taxi medallion monopoly and the companies that managed to procure a medallion. But because a law specifically targeting companies by name or a specific industry would be struck down as unconstitutional, AB-5 was written broadly, and gutted independent contractor status. Not only were Uber and Lyft hit, but so were any business whose activities utilize independent contractors for some specific project or event. But for Covid, AB-5 would have killed, for example, the San Jose Jazz Festival (its old name), in which headliner performers often hired local musicians for their back-up band.

So, yeah, this bill would kill a lot of jobs and quite a few small businesses.