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Much of the uncertainty created by COVID-19 is out of our control.
But, for independent contractors in California, Sacramento politicians are holding up more than 2 million claims under the federal CARES Act until we “figure out whether or not you’re misclassified,” according to the state Labor Secretary.
This is not just absurd. It’s flat out wrong.
The problems with AB5 and the classification of independent contractors is not the fault of hard-working Californians. The problem was created by a legislature that chose to codify a decades-old court-ruling and apply that ruling to a totally transformed economic reality.
If the purpose of AB5 was to protect workers, there should be no issue in giving them the benefits they need and are due during a time of crisis.
Lives are, literally, at stake.
This is not the time for Sacramento to wait more than 2 weeks -- and counting -- to figure out a way to determine whether 2 million workers were “misclassified” before they get the relief they need.
The California legislature needs to support workers NOW. They can figure out how to deal with the mess they created with AB5 later.
Barbara Bry
Candidate for Mayor of San Diego
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