The band America (“A Horse with No Name,” “Ventura Highway”) was formed in England. Yes, really. But by three Americans whose fathers were in the U.S. Air Force and stationed overseas.
That got me thinking about other bands with place names. When I was growing up in Miami in the 1980s, if someone mentioned Boston, I thought of just another band out of Boston, on the road to make ends meet. If someone mentioned Kansas, I thought of dust in the wind, even though I never particularly liked that song. Chicago made me think of the Cubs, but only in 1984. Otherwise, does anybody really know what time it is?
Not that I am older and have a life, place names mean something different to me. They now make me think of federal, state, and local laws affecting independent contractor status.
(Ok, I take back the comment about having a life. I realize this is a sad and pathetic way to think of place names.)
After the election, place names are going to take on greater importance as businesses aim to protect their independent contractor relationships. Federal enforcement activity isn’t going away, but I expect to see a growing emphasis on legislation and enforcement at the state and local level.
In the realm of non-employee workers (independent contractors, staffing agency temps), I expect to more state and local legislation in these areas:
1) Freelancer Laws. We now have freelancer laws in CA, NY, IL, Los Angeles, NYC, Minneapolis, Seattle, and Columbus. These laws impose requirements when retaining individuals who are independent contractors. The laws generally require written contracts that contain several mandatory components.
2) Temporary Worker Laws. We have these in NJ and IL. They generally require that staffing agencies pay their workers an equivalent wage rate (and sometimes the value of benefits) being paid to workers they work alongside at the company where they are providing services.
3) Misclassification Laws – the Bad Kind. In states with Democrat trifectas (house, senate, governor), expect new laws that make it harder to be an independent contractor. Expect more ABC Tests, like in CA and MA. Other states have ABC Tests for determining who is an employee under workers’ comp and unemployment law.
4) Misclassification Laws – the Good Kind. In states with Republican trifectas, expect more safe harbor laws. If you satisfy a set of basic requirements in your dealings with a non-employee worker, then the worker is an independent contractor under that state’s laws. Pesky balancing tests (and long-haired freaky people) need not apply. We have these state laws in WV and LA (not L.A.)
We will likely see changes at the federal level too, but these may take years to develop. The federal agency rulemaking process is slow and cumbersome, and agency rules will take on less importance as federal agency power continues to diminish after the Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision.
I haven’t touched on Europe or Asia, but those are bands for another day and another post. When? At some point, in the heat of the moment, but only time will tell.
© 2024 Todd Lebowitz, posted on WhoIsMyEmployee.com, Exploring Issues of Independent Contractor Misclassification and Joint Employment. All rights reserved.








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