The Biden Administration Just Proposed a Rule That Could Change Work for Millions

[douglas9]

On Tuesday, the Department of Labor released a new proposal for determining whether independent contractors are employees, according to the New York Times. The measure would be a small but significant lowering of a Trump-era standard that could allow more workers to gain the benefits of employment, like guaranteed minimum wage and overtime.

The DOL has the ability to set a provisional rule that, while not strictly enforceable across the board, would create a standard that many companies and courts would likely use to determine who is and is not an employee.

NEWS: Biden admin releases long-anticipated rule making it more likely for millions of workers to be classified as employees. Could deal a blow to gig companies' business model. https://t.co/NsEARkIhhv

— Noam Scheiber (@noamscheiber) October 11, 2022

The new rule, according to reporting from the Times, would move the test for employment closer to one that existed during the Obama administration. In 2020, the Trump administration essentially proposed the opposite. The hope of the Trump admin was to enshrine an employment model that carved out contractors, aiding gig companies like Uber. But if the new DOL proposal were enacted, companies that make their workers independent contractors instead of employees—despite the workers doing the tasks of an employee—could be punished for violating labor law.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/10/biden-admin-gig-worker-misclassification-employment/

[elleng]

1. small but significant

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

2. A lot of companies try to call employees contractors to avoid paying benefits

[Midnight Writer]

3. Exactly.

[usonian]

4. California AB5 lays down the law here.

Countless "contractors" (ask me how I know) were and are in fact employees, less the benefits.
Scam of scams, second in eviltry only to age discrimination.

https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_IndependentContractor.htm
Independent contractor versus employee

In September of 2019, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 5 into law. The new law addresses the “employment status” of workers when the hiring entity claims the worker is an independent contractor and not an employee.

1. Q. What is AB 5 and what does it do?
A. AB 5 is a bill the Governor signed into law in September 2019 addressing employment status when a hiring entity claims that the person it hired is an independent contractor. AB 5 requires the application of the “ABC test” to determine if workers in California are employees or independent contractors for purposes of the Labor Code, the Unemployment Insurance Code, and the Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) wage orders. The California Supreme Court first adopted the ABC test in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court (2018) 4 Cal.5th 903. Among other things, AB 5 and later AB 2257 added a new article to the Labor Code addressing these issues (sections 2775-2787).

2. Q. What is the ABC test?
A. Under the ABC test, a worker is considered an employee and not an independent contractor, unless the hiring entity satisfies all three of the following conditions:

• The worker is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of the work and in fact;
• The worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business; and
• The worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as that involved in the work performed.

California leads the nation.
Blue Wave Coming.
Why California Politics Is Always 15 Years Ahead
The Remarkably Prescient 15 Year Rule Means Trump & the National Republicans
are on the Verge of a Spectacular Collapse
https://democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1016&pid=326155

[Bayard]

5. That would be great!

I fell in that category once. It sucks.