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.
