Gig Work Again in the Crosshairs?

The outgoing Deputy Secretary of Labor, Patrick Pizzella, explains some recent activity on behalf of his department:

... but they still want to take it way from you. (Image by Emma Matthews Digital Content Production, via Unsplash, license.)

The Department of Labor recently finalized a rule to more clearly lay out the test for distinguishing between an employee and an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Rather than seeking to expand or shrink either classification, the rule largely relies on long-standing Supreme Court precedent to preserve the distinction that guarantees desired protections for employees, while maintaining flexibility for those independent contractors who choose to pursue alternative work arrangements.

This -- as Pizzella notes and regulars here will realize -- is pursuant to the recent job-killing law that voters in California wisely gutted in the last election.

So far so good: As long as we have bureaucracies we shouldn't have -- like the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service -- may they govern as clearly as possible in the meantime.

What Pizzella doesn't bring up is that the incoming President and Vice President are both on the record as supporting legislation like AB-5 on the national level. And both houses of Congress are in the hands of their party. The majorities are slim, but gig workers -- and many others, as Pizzella indicates -- will need to keep a wary eye on Washington if they value their "non-jobs."

-- CAV