Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

US Supreme Court Lets Parents Take Kids Out of Classes With LGBT Storybooks

1 hour ago

In Win for Trump, US Supreme Court Limits Judges’ Power to Block Birthright Citizenship Order

2 hours ago

California’s Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million for Defamation Over Trump Call

2 hours ago

Motorcycle Collides With Tractor in Fatal Fresno County Collision

2 hours ago

Fourth of July Celebrations Begin Saturday. Here’s Your Fresno Area Guide

5 hours ago

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

22 hours ago

State Department Approves $30 Million for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

23 hours ago

Cargo Ship That Caught Fire Carrying Electric Vehicles Sinks in the Pacific

1 day ago

4 Million Acres of California Forests Could Lose Protection. What Trump’s ‘Roadless Rule’ Repeal Could Do

2 days ago
Assembly Votes to Tighten Rules on Independent Contractors
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
May 30, 2019

Share

SACRAMENTO — California residents working for companies like Lyft and Uber would get the rights of employees entitled to a minimum wage and workers compensation under a law the state Assembly passed on Wednesday.

The sweeping bill, which now goes to the Senate, carries new standards defining whether workers are employees or independent contractors, upending how workers are treated in industries from trucking to the burgeoning gig economy.

“Big businesses shouldn’t be able to pass their costs onto taxpayers while depriving workers of the labor law protections they are rightfully entitled to.” — Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez

Under those standards, for example, workers could only be classified as independent contractors if they are free from the control or direction of an employer and they do work outside a company’s usual course of business.

The measure, Assembly Bill 5, includes exemptions for some sectors, such as physicians and insurance agents.

Democrats and major labor unions backing the bill contend it will protect workers’ rights.

“Big businesses shouldn’t be able to pass their costs onto taxpayers while depriving workers of the labor law protections they are rightfully entitled to,” said Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, a Democrat from San Diego who authored the bill.

Many industries have raised concerns, however, arguing that hiring independent contractors provides flexibility for companies as well as workers.

 

Bill a Work in Progress and Can Change

The ridesharing company Lyft issued a statement shortly after the bill passed, emphasizing its opposition and contending that the legislation would force many of its drivers to become employees.

“Lyft drivers overwhelmingly prefer the freedom of working where, when and how much they want,” the company said.

One sector after another has sought exemptions to the proposed law. The California News Publishers Association has sought an exemption to cover freelance journalists and newspaper carriers.

“Lyft drivers overwhelmingly prefer the freedom of working where, when and how much they want.” — Lyft statement

Companies are responsible for covering Social Security and Medicare taxes, unemployment insurance as well as workers compensation for employees.

Gonzalez said the bill is a work in progress and can change.

Still, Gonzalez said setting clear standards in law for labeling workers as independent contractors would give certainty to businesses following a California Supreme Court ruling last year on the issue.

California is home to many of the companies that gave rise to the gig economy. Silicon Valley is a political force in California’s capital but so, too, is labor.

The bill comes as companies like Uber and Lyft are facing mounting pressure. Drivers for the companies went on strike and staged protests in major cities earlier this month to draw attention to precarious working conditions as well as the financial pressures of gig work.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

US Supreme Court Preserves Key Element of Obamacare

DON'T MISS

US Supreme Court Lets Parents Take Kids Out of Classes With LGBT Storybooks

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Trustees Will Get Automatic Raises on Tuesday

DON'T MISS

Alleged ‘Fake’ ICE Agents Charged. Fresno Court Date Set

DON'T MISS

In Win for Trump, US Supreme Court Limits Judges’ Power to Block Birthright Citizenship Order

DON'T MISS

California’s Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million for Defamation Over Trump Call

DON'T MISS

Motorcycle Collides With Tractor in Fatal Fresno County Collision

DON'T MISS

Ringo Is Ready to Rock Your World With ‘Pawsitive’ Vibes!

DON'T MISS

Calwa Park Sitting on $7.4M in Grants. Where is New Pool, Other Upgrades?

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Teisha Zonnette Thomas

UP NEXT

California’s Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million for Defamation Over Trump Call

UP NEXT

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

UP NEXT

US Justice Department to Probe Hiring Practices at University of California

UP NEXT

Newsom and Legislature Tangle With Construction Unions Over Minimum Wage

UP NEXT

Tesla Executive, Elon Musk Confidant Leaves EV Maker, Bloomberg News Reports

UP NEXT

4 Million Acres of California Forests Could Lose Protection. What Trump’s ‘Roadless Rule’ Repeal Could Do

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Orders CA to Strip Trans Athlete of Medals

UP NEXT

SoCal Vice Mayor Urges Street Gang ‘Cholos’ to Rise Up Against ICE

UP NEXT

How a Birthday Boat Ride on Lake Tahoe Turned Tragic

UP NEXT

Cuomo Concedes to Mamdani in New York City Democratic Mayoral Contest

Alleged ‘Fake’ ICE Agents Charged. Fresno Court Date Set

2 hours ago

In Win for Trump, US Supreme Court Limits Judges’ Power to Block Birthright Citizenship Order

2 hours ago

California’s Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million for Defamation Over Trump Call

2 hours ago

Motorcycle Collides With Tractor in Fatal Fresno County Collision

2 hours ago

Ringo Is Ready to Rock Your World With ‘Pawsitive’ Vibes!

3 hours ago

Calwa Park Sitting on $7.4M in Grants. Where is New Pool, Other Upgrades?

4 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Teisha Zonnette Thomas

4 hours ago

Fourth of July Celebrations Begin Saturday. Here’s Your Fresno Area Guide

5 hours ago

Hawaiian Airlines Hit by Cyber Attack

19 hours ago

US House Committee Subpoenas Harvard Over Tuition Costs

20 hours ago

US Supreme Court Preserves Key Element of Obamacare

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday preserved a key element of the Obamacare law that helps guarantee that health insurers cover p...

39 minutes ago

Obamacare Sign in San Ysidro, California
39 minutes ago

US Supreme Court Preserves Key Element of Obamacare

Pride Flags Fly in New York
1 hour ago

US Supreme Court Lets Parents Take Kids Out of Classes With LGBT Storybooks

2 hours ago

Fresno Unified Trustees Will Get Automatic Raises on Tuesday

2 hours ago

Alleged ‘Fake’ ICE Agents Charged. Fresno Court Date Set

Olga Urbina carries baby Ares Webster as demonstrators rally on the day the Supreme Court justices hear oral arguments over U.S. President Donald Trump's bid to broadly enforce his executive order to restrict automatic birthright citizenship, during a protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 15, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

In Win for Trump, US Supreme Court Limits Judges’ Power to Block Birthright Citizenship Order

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks to the press after a hearing on the use of National Guard troops amid federal immigration sweeps, at the California State Supreme Court in San Francisco, California, U.S., June 12, 2025. (Reuters FIle)
2 hours ago

California’s Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million for Defamation Over Trump Call

fresno
2 hours ago

Motorcycle Collides With Tractor in Fatal Fresno County Collision

Ringo Is GV Wire's Adoptable Pet of the Week, June 27, 2025
3 hours ago

Ringo Is Ready to Rock Your World With ‘Pawsitive’ Vibes!

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend