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With the presidential election just around the corner, freelancers are starting to grow concerns about what the results may mean for their business. The big question is, will a Biden presidency put freelancers out of work?

Many individuals dependent on freelance gigs are wondering what former Vice President and Democratic candidate Joe Biden’s public support for AB 5 means for the future of their businesses.

AB 5 is a union-backed California law aimed at preventing the misclassification of rideshare drivers by giving them the status and protections of full-time employees. The California Legislature modified the law several times after taking effect on Jan. 1, 2020. This was in part due to the fact that AB 5 was putting many other types of freelancers out of work.

Biden supports a federal law similar to California's AB 5

Freelancers are concerned because Biden is a strong supporter of unions and he wants a federal law similar to AB 5 that could place steep restrictions on who can be a freelancer.

More Americans are freelancing than ever before. So naturally, the future of freelance work is a primary concern for some workers as the presidential election approaches. A recent Upwork survey, Freelance Forward 2020 found that 59 million Americans did some form of freelancing in 2019. That's up 2 million from the previous year.

Since taking effect on Jan. 1, 2020, AB 5 is an attempt to address inequities in the gig economy including the independent contractor policies of ride-sharing companies such as Lyft and Uber. It assumes that every worker in the state is considered an employee unless employers can prove otherwise using a strict “ABC test”.

The "B" portion of the test states that to be considered a contractor, a worker must perform work that is outside of the usual course of business for the hiring company. This makes it harder or impossible for many freelancers to work for clients in their own industry. Similar laws have been considered in other states such as New York and New Jersey. So far, these measures have been unsuccessful.

Biden encourages Californians to reject Proposition 22 that would overturn AB 5

On Election Day, California residents will now be asked to vote on Proposition 22, a ballot measure that would overturn AB 5.  A group of rideshare and gig economy companies is investing more than $180 million to defeat it.

Proposition 22 would classify rideshare drivers to be independent contractors, rather than employees or agents. It would require app-based rideshare companies to provide a guaranteed minimum wage, a subsidy for health benefits, medical and disability coverage for workplace injuries, on top of added protection against harassment and discrimination. The measure would also help to benefit some freelancers who raised complaints about AB-5.