Biden Policies Could Spell the End of Freelance Contractors, Republicans Say

Republican members of Congress say President Joe Biden’s administration is waging war on independent contractors. Democrats counter that they are trying to ensure workers are not exploited and businesses compete on a level playing field.

Kim Kavin, a freelance writer from New Jersey, said this is not a partisan issue.

“Our members have voted for everybody from Bernie Sanders to Donald Trump,” Kavin told the Subcommittee on Workforce Protection of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

“All of us are in agreement on this.”

Kavin is one of five witnesses called before the committee for a hearing entitled “Examining Biden’s War on Independent Contractors.”

The hearing was called because the Biden administration is pushing a policy to deny Americans a fundamental right, according to Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.).

“Today’s hearing is about the right to earn a living. In a free society, few rights are as fundamental,” he said.

Biden is attempting to apply a California law that requires some companies to reclassify freelance workers as employees to the entire nation, Kiley said.  The law, AB5, was a disaster for California’s economy and would be equally devastating nationally, he added.

According to Kiley, the law had such a negative impact that a subsequent bill had to be passed exempting dozens of freelance jobs such as app-based delivery and ride-sharing businesses.
He said California is an example of why the rest of the country should avoid its practices.

“We were the state where anyone could get ahead. Now we’re the state people can’t wait to leave behind,” Kiley said.

The subcommittee’s ranking member said the real issue is how to protect workers’ rights, benefits, and legal protections when they are misclassified as independent contractors.

“The misclassification of workers as independent contractors is a problem,” said Rep. Alma Adams (D-N.C.).

Gig Workers Have Fewer Protections

According to Adams, independent contractors have fewer legal protections, do not qualify for unemployment benefits, and don’t have to be paid a minimum wage. In addition, they said companies that hire contractors could underbid their competitors because they don’t have to pay unemployment or Social Security Taxes.

The freelancers on the panel said they were willing to forego such benefits in exchange for controlling their schedules and work product.

Karen Anderson is the founder of Freelancers Against AB5. She said her organization began as a social media account for freelancers to air their concerns and complaints about the law. She said she was surprised by the volume and nature of the complaints.

“Entire sectors [of business] have been negatively impacted,” Anderson said.

David Long is the chief executive officer of the National Electrical Contractors Association based in Washington. He said contractors who classify employees as independent contractors can