{"id":112449,"date":"2020-11-15T19:12:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-15T16:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/joe-biden-has-big-plans-to-help-protect-gig-workers-but-will-he-be-able-to-enact-them\/"},"modified":"2024-02-11T13:30:29","modified_gmt":"2024-02-11T10:30:29","slug":"joe-biden-has-big-plans-to-help-protect-gig-workers-but-will-he-be-able-to-enact-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/joe-biden-has-big-plans-to-help-protect-gig-workers-but-will-he-be-able-to-enact-them\/","title":{"rendered":"#Joe Biden has big plans to help protect gig workers \u2014 but will he be able to enact them?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a416847bebc8\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a416847bebc8\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/joe-biden-has-big-plans-to-help-protect-gig-workers-but-will-he-be-able-to-enact-them\/#A_Republican-controlled_Senate_may_prevent_Biden_from_achieving_some_of_these_promises\" >A Republican-controlled Senate may prevent Biden from achieving some of these promises<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/joe-biden-has-big-plans-to-help-protect-gig-workers-but-will-he-be-able-to-enact-them\/#Gig_workers_worry_that_members_of_Bidens_transition_team_may_throw_a_wrench_in_the_works\" >Gig workers worry that members of Biden\u2019s transition team may throw a wrench in the works<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-258756\/horizontal?width=700&amp;size=1.778975741239892&amp;pixel_ratio=2\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President-elect Joe Biden campaigned on a promise to ensure that gig workers are awarded more rights.<br>\u00a0<strong>MARKETWATCH PHOTO ILLUSTRATION\/GETTY IMAGES<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gig workers are in for some changes under the Biden administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For starters, President-elect Joe Biden\u00a0promised\u00a0on his campaign website to \u201censure workers in the \u2018gig economy\u2019 and beyond receive the legal benefits and protections they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unlike traditional salaried workers, workers who participate in the \u201cgig economy\u201d typically don\u2019t qualify for the benefits available to full-time employees, such as overtime pay, paid sick leave, and anti-discrimination protections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They also\u00a0haven\u2019t been formally recognized by the U.S. federal government. That\u2019s partially because these workers come in many forms. They include side hustlers with regular full-time jobs, freelancers who take on extra clients on their off-hours, as well as Uber, Lyft and Instacart workers.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Often, these types of workers are incorrectly categorized as\u00a0independent contractors, who unlike employees, traditionally aren\u2019t eligible for unemployment benefits, minimum wage or paid sick leave. Under the CARES Act, these types of workers became temporarily eligible for unemployment benefits, but that will\u00a0stop at the end of next month, absent of any new legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Related:\u00a0<\/strong>Uber brands gig companies\u2019 efforts to reshape labor laws as \u2018IC+\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Biden promises to \u201caggressively pursue employers who violate labor laws, participate in wage theft, or cheat on their taxes by intentionally misclassifying employees as independent contractors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe will enact legislation that makes worker misclassification a substantive violation of law under all federal labor, employment, and tax laws with additional penalties beyond those imposed for other violations,\u201d his campaign site states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Furthermore, he will implement the \u201cABC test\u201d that California uses to determine whether a worker should be considered an employee or contractor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As outlined on California\u2019s Labor and Workforce Development Agency\u2019s\u00a0site, to be considered an employee the worker must satisfy all three of the following criteria,\u00a0<em>unless<\/em>\u00a0the company satisfies\u00a0all three\u00a0of the following conditions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The worker is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of the work and in fact;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity\u2019s business;&nbsp;<strong>and<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as that involved in the work performed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe ABC test will mean many more workers will get the legal protections and benefits they rightfully should receive. As president, Biden will work with Congress to establish a federal standard modeled on the ABC test for all labor, employment, and tax laws,\u201d Biden campaign site states.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Republican-controlled_Senate_may_prevent_Biden_from_achieving_some_of_these_promises\"><\/span><strong>A Republican-controlled Senate may prevent Biden from achieving some of these promises<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As of Wednesday afternoon, Republicans\u00a0had secured 50 seats\u00a0in the Senate for the upcoming year while Democrats had secured 48. The two remaining seats, which will determine which party has majority control in the Senate won\u2019t be known until after Jan. 5 when a runoff election for the seats takes place in Georgia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Regardless of whether Republicans maintain control of the Senate or not, Biden is likely to encounter pushback from Republican lawmakers that could prevent him from passing new laws to reclassify gig workers as employees, in addition to\u00a0raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But his administration could hold the upper hand when it comes to interpreting existing laws, said Rebecca Smith, director of work structures at the National Employment Law Project, a worker advocacy group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2018A Biden Department of Labor would correctly interpret and enforce the Fair Labor Standards Act\u2019<small>\u2014 Rebecca Smith, director of work structures at the National Employment Law Project<\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA Biden Department of Labor would correctly interpret and enforce the Fair Labor Standards Act;\u201d she added, which could enable gig workers to receive overtime pay and qualify for minimum wage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two months ago, the Department of Labor\u00a0put forth\u00a0a revised \u201cinterpretation of independent contractor status under the FLSA.\u201d It rejects the ABC framework California implemented to determine whether a worker can be characterized for legal purposes as an employee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, it <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>lies what the agency refers to as an \u201ceconomic reality test.\u201d There are five factors part of the test but the two factors which the DOL places the greatest weight on are \u201cthe nature and degree of the worker\u2019s control over the work and the worker\u2019s opportunity for profit or loss.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The DOL takes the position that app-based workers essentially are independent contractors because they have the \u201cfreedom to set hours, reject assignments, and work for competitors,\u201d and therefore exert control over their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA Biden National Labor Review Board would consider these workers employees like any other,\u201d Smith told MarketWatch adding that \u201ca Biden Equal Employment Opportunity Commission would ensure they have protection against discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On top of that, Biden has also expressed support for the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or the PRO Act, that the\u00a0House passed in February. The PRO Act would allow more workers, such as independent contractors, to exercise collective bargaining rights without facing penalties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Susan Cuffaro, a founding member of Gig Workers Collective, a nonprofit group of more than 1,000 gig workers, is hopeful that Biden will get the PRO Act passed, though she recognizes that it would depend \u201con getting a Senate that will work with him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But first and foremost, she said she expects Biden to \u201cto appoint Labor Secretary who is sympathetic to exploited workers in America.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Gig_workers_worry_that_members_of_Bidens_transition_team_may_throw_a_wrench_in_the_works\"><\/span><strong>Gig workers worry that members of Biden\u2019s transition team may throw a wrench in the works<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Tuesday, Biden appointed Seth Harris, a former deputy labor secretary under President Obama, to the Biden-Harris Department of Labor\u00a0transition team. He is seen as a\u00a0possible pick\u00a0for Biden\u2019s Secretary of Labor. In 2015, Harris co-authored a\u00a0paper\u00a0with Alan Krueger, who was an economic advisor to Obama, that argued that workers who partake in the \u201conline gig economy\u201d should not be classified as employees but rather as \u201cindependent workers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBecause it is conceptually impossible to attribute their work hours to any single inter<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>ry,\u201d the two argue that independent workers should not be required to receive hourly minimum wage or overtime payment. However they support independent workers having the right to collectively organize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Biden also has Matt Olsen, chief trust and security office at Uber\u00a0UBER,\u00a0-0.98%,\u00a0advising the Intelligence Community transition team, and Brandon Belford, a senior director of public policy at Lyft\u00a0LYFT,\u00a0+1.96%,\u00a0advising the Office of Management and Budget transition team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(Uber and Lyft did not respond to MarketWatch\u2019s requests for comment.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These appointments concern Cuffaro, who shopped for Instacart for four years and stopped at the onset of the pandemic because she feared the company was not taking adequate care of shoppers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2018I\u2019m concerned that [Biden] will be receiving tainted advice from some of these individuals, or at least advice that is not taking into account the needs and desires of the actual gig worker force\u2019<small>\u2014 Susan Cuffaro, a founding member of Gig Workers Collective<\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instacart told MarketWatch that the company has introduced more health guidelines, sick leave policies and provided more cleaning and protective supplies to shoppers in the last several months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m concerned that [Biden] will be receiving tainted advice from some of these individuals, or at least advice that is not taking into account the needs and desires of the actual gig worker force,\u201d Cuffaro, who is from San Diego, told MarketWatch.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ultimately, Cuffaro is worried that \u201ccorporate money and influence will continue to drive policy decisions to the detriment of economically vulnerable workers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m very excited that we can look forward to a new administration in January, I believe that President-elect Biden truly, truly wants to do the right thing for all workers, Cuffaro said. \u201c I\u2019m just hoping that it won\u2019t get twisted and turned in the tumultuous weather that is Washington, D.C.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/story.asp?guid=%7B21005575-02D4-D4B5-4572-D100A314F8D6%7D&amp;siteid=rss&amp;rss=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-wplink-edit=\"true\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gig workers are in for some changes under the Biden administration. For starters, President-elect Joe Biden\u00a0promised\u00a0on his campaign website to \u201censure workers in the \u2018gig economy\u2019 and beyond receive the legal benefits and protections they deserve.\u201d Unlike traditional salaried workers, workers who participate in the \u201cgig economy\u201d typically don\u2019t qualify for the benefits available to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":608201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-258756\/horizontal?width=700&size=1.778975741239892&pixel_ratio=2","fifu_image_alt":"#Joe Biden has big plans to help protect gig workers \u2014 but will he be able to enact them?","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/608201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}