On the recordMarch 22, 2023
This last week, two court decisions in California delivered a near-fatal blow to one of the worst laws that has ever been passed, the California law known as AB 5, that destroyed the livelihoods of countless people, wiping out hundreds of professions in our State. These court decisions have significant ramifications for three matters of national importance: First, the recently re-introduced PRO Act, which seeks to nationalize California's ban on independent work; second, a proposed Department of Labor rule that seeks to do much the same thing through the bureaucracy; and third, the upcoming confirmation hearings for President Biden's nominee for Secretary of Labor, Julie Su, who, as California's Labor Secretary, was an architect and lead enforcer of AB 5. The PRO Act, the Labor rule, Julie Su: It is a multi-pronged assault on the right to earn a living in America, a concerted strategy to limit or eliminate the gig economy, freelancing, independent contracting, self-employment, and other alternate work arrangements that entire careers are based on and entire industries have been built around. If this strategy is successful, it will be devastating for the American economy and American workers. We know that because of the devastation California has already experienced. When he signed AB 5 in late 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom rendered countless Californians, spanning hundreds of professions, unable to earn a living in our State.…
