Gloria Rivera is among California's front-line health care workers unable to find work in hospitals — even amid the coronavirus pandemic — due to AB5, a controversial new labor law targeting the gig economy. The native Spanish speaker is a medical interpreter who has taught at major universities and collaborated on top-level projects with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But as an independent contractor in the San Francisco Bay Area, she has been almost completely shut out of work.
"Right now I have zero requests," Rivera stated. "Just having AB5 was bad. But coronavirus has made it even worse for most of us."
California Assembly Bill 5, which went into effect at the start of this year,
mandates that companies reclassify many independent contractors as
full-time employees eligible for health benefits, minimum wage
guarantees, workers' compensation and a slew of other labor
protections. Employers and freelancers say those added costs and the
law's compliance nightmare caused work to dry up. On top of that, the
economic crash from the coronavirus has made clients even scarcer. Gig economy companies like Uber (UBER) and Lyft (LYFT) were the intended targets of the sweeping legislation. But the law expanded in its final version. So freelance journalists, truckers, speech therapists, mall Santas, indie filmmakers, court reporters — and even exotic dancers — became unintended victims.
Now AB5 is hindering the state's response to the coronavirus crisis, revealing how it could slow the eventual economic recovery.
California could be a preview of what's to come elsewhere. New York, Illinois, Massachusetts and Washington are considering similar laws. New Jersey plans to revisit its gig economy bill. At the national level, the House passed a pro-union bill that would also
feature changes to how employers classify workers. Presumptive
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has tweeted his support for AB5...MORE
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