Biden’s Independent Contractor Rule Threatens the Evolution of Work

Published

1 year ago

March 13, 2024

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The Labor Department’s new Independent Contractor Rule went into effect Monday, threatening gig workers’ independent status and the freedom and flexibility such workers have come to expect.

The new regulation imposes six criteria that employers must take into account when determining whether to classify a worker as an independent contractor or an employeea distinction that for many businesses ultimately determines whether they can afford to hire the worker at all.

Independent contractor status grants workers greater liberty to choose their schedules, hours, mobility, and clientele, whereas the “employee” designation limits these freedoms in exchange for requiring employers to guarantee benefits, such as health coverage and paid time off. Independent contractors could still receive such benefits before the rule, and competitive gig companies often do offer workers similar perks. But by turning self-employed workers into corporate employees, the new rule turns those optional benefits into mandatory (and usually far less individualized) ones.

The major change, though, is that the rule stands to turn a sizable swath of workers into unionized employeesone of the ways in which President Joe Biden hopes to make good on his promise to become “the most pro-union president in American history.”

One problem with the measure is that it’s unclear whether any one of its six criteria ” outweighs the other ,” making it impossible for businesses to gauge whether they are on the right side of the law. Though the Department of Labor claims the subjectivity of its standards such as a worker’s “skill and initiative,” the “investments by the worker and potential employer,” and the “nature and degree” of worker autonomyis meant to grant employers agency over worker designations, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce alleges that these nebulous parameters are crafted with the opposite intention in mind.

To their point, the rule’s sextet of definitive criteria concludes with a vague caveat: “additional factors may be relevant.”

The new rule is constructed in such a way that “the only time [employers] can be confident is if they call a worker an employee,” Marc Freedman , the Chamber’s vice president of workplace policy, told the Associated Press. Larger companies like Lyft and Uber might have the resources to protect workers’ independent contractor status and hash it out in court if need be, but smaller competitors are stuck between a rock and a hard place: less able to afford the legal risks, but unable to shoulder the costs of treating independent workers as employees either. The rule threatens to run them out of the market.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (RLa.), who plans to introduce a resolution to repeal the rule, adds that the new regulations will bully employees as well. “Independent contractors…are shielded from forced or coerced unionization that would strip their flexibility away,” Cassidy has said , making the self-employed a critical target “for large labor unions who want more workers paying forced union dues.”

It makes sense that unions would be bullish on the Biden measure: In a 2022 McKinsey study, more than a third (36 percent) of the workers surveyed identified as independent contractors. That’s a whopping 33 percent increase from 2016, suggesting that the portion of the American workforce forgoing the traditional 9-to-5 format in favor of self-employment is rising. That’s a threat to these unions’ business model.

A rule that restricts workers’ independence is hardly a winning proposition among those it aims to protect. A Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) survey reveals that “fewer than 1 in 10 independent contractors would prefer a traditional work arrangement” to their current one, and that nearly 4 in 5 are happier to be self-employed than in a traditional corporate job. A Harvard Business Review study yields some insight as to why: 59 percent of the respondents cited workplace flexibility and autonomy as being more important than salary or other benefits.

It’s not just workplace flexibility that the self-employed find so appealing: Pay still mattersand when it does, independence still wins. While the union-friendly outlet More Perfect Union alleges that the forthcoming rule “will mean higher wages and overtime pay for millions of workers in gig jobs, healthcare, construction, and more,” the data tell a different story. According to the BLS, among full-time workers, independent contractors’ median weekly earnings are nearly identical to those of traditional workers. Part-time independent contractors’ median earnings are 30 percent higher than the median earnings of traditional part-time workers ($333 to $255).

Part of that might owe to the rigidity to which corporations must often adhere when setting employees’ hours. Whether they’re part-time or full-time, there are limits on just how much traditional employees can work in a given day or week, with few opportunities to put in an extra bit of hustle if they have a big car payment coming upor, conversely, to take a little time off to deal with a stressful life event. In a review of the public comments made to the Labor Department following the rule’s proposal, Quartz quoted a nurse who reported that “being able to work on the side as an independent contractor for [an] infusion company allows me to work extra without burning out.”

No wonder that when the California State Legislature passed its infamous Assembly Bill 5 (on which the new Independent Contractor Rule is modeled), self-employment declined by 10.5 percent and California’s work force shrank by 4.4 percent, on average, among affected occupations.

Meanwhile, the costs of both enforcing and conforming to the new rule could be staggering. Susan Houseman, a labor economist at the Upjohn Institute, notes that for the rule to be effective, it “must be coupled with enforcementyet dollars (in inflation adjusted terms) for enforcement of such employment regulations have dramatically declined over the decades.” With a sizable share of the population now identifying as independent contractors and with 40 percent of workers reporting that they had done some freelance work over the past year, cracking down on alleged worker misclassification could place a heavy burden on American taxpayers.

Consumers could also face higher prices as businesses struggle to foot the bill of transitioning their independent contractors to “employee” status. Reuters reports that businesses spend around 30 percent more for each employee than they do for every contractor.

So what’s the advantage of reclassifying independent workers as employees? The same as the disadvantage: It makes it harder for workers to be their own boss, to choose their own schedules, to represent themselves, to set their priorities as they see fit. If you believe in the evolution of the workplace and worker self-determination, this is bad. But if you believe in a one-size-fits-all work model where individuals are employed by traditional businesses and represented by traditional unions, this is great.

Entertainment

Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it’s ‘an underdog just like me’

Published

3 hours ago

July 18, 2025

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Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it's 'an underdog just like me'

Snoop Dogg has become a co-owner and investor of Swansea, with the US rapper hailing the Welsh football club as “an underdog that bites back, just like me”.

The former Premier League club, which plays in the English second tier, confirmed the US rapper and producer plans to use his own money to invest in it, Sky Sports reports, although it didn’t disclose financial details.

“My love of football is well known, but it feels special to me that I make my move into club ownership with Swansea City,” the music icon said in the announcement.

“The story of the club and the area really struck a chord with me,” he added. “This is a proud, working class city and club.

“An underdog that bites back, just like me.

“I’m proud to be part of Swansea City. I am going to do all I can to help the club.”

Swansea’s American owners, led by Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen, are trying to grow the Championship club’s global brand and increase commercial revenue.

Snoop Dogg, 53, who has 89m followers on Instagram and more than 20m on X, helped launch the team’s 2025-26 home shirt last weekend.

The club ownership group said: “To borrow a phrase from Snoop’s back catalogue, this announcement is the next episode for Swansea City as we seek to create new opportunities to boost the club’s reach and profile.”

Luka Modric, who recently signed with AC Milan from Real Madrid, joined Swansea’s ownership group in April.

Politics

Diane Abbott suspended from Labour Party

Published

3 hours ago

July 18, 2025

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Diane Abbott suspended from Labour Party

Diane Abbott has been suspended from the Labour Party pending an investigation.

A party spokesperson confirmed the decision to Sky News but did not give a reason why.

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It comes after the veteran MP defended previous comments about racism which sparked an antisemitism row and led to a year-long suspension.

She apologised at the time and was readmitted back into the party before the 2024 general election.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Diane Abbott has been administratively suspended from the Labour Party, pending an investigation. We cannot comment further while this investigation is ongoing.”

Sky News understands that the suspension is not related to the four rebels who lost the whip on Wednesday for “repeated breaches” of party discipline, including voting against the government’s welfare cuts.

The action has been taken because of an interview in which she doubled down on her claim Jewish people experience racism differently to black people, which previously sparked a huge controversy.

In a letter to The Observer in 2023, Ms Abbott argued that people of colour experienced racism “all their lives” and said that was different to the “prejudice” experienced by Jewish people, Irish people and Travellers.

Shortly after it was published, she issued a statement in which she said she wished to “wholly and unreservedly withdraw my remarks and disassociate myself from them”.

However in a new interview with BBC Radio 4’s Reflections programme this week, she said she did not look back on the incident with regret.

Ms Abbott said: “Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you don’t know.

“But if you see a black person walking down the street, you see straight away that they’re black. They are different types of racism.”

She added: “I just think that it’s silly to try and claim that racism which is about skin colour is the same as other types of racism.

“I don’t know why people would say that.”

Commenting on the suspension, Ms Abbott told Sky News: “It’s obvious this Labour leadership wants me out. My comments in the interview with James Naughtie were factually correct, as any fair-minded person would accept.”

The clip of the interview was re-posted by Brian Leishman, one of the MPs suspended on Wednesday, who said: “Diane Abbott has fought against racism her entire life.”

Bell Riberio-Addy, who lost her role as trade envoy in yesterday’s purge, also came to Ms Abbott’s defence, saying: “Before condemning her based on headlines, I would listen to her clip and note she discussed the different forms that racism takes and condemned all forms of racism.”

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell made similar comments, saying that in the interview his colleague “forthrightly condemns antisemitism & discusses the different forms of racism”.

But Labour MP David Taylor told Sky News he has “long thought Diane Abbott shouldn’t be a member of our party due to her appalling positions on everything from Bosnia to Syria”.

He added: “As the Jewish Labour Movement have said, antisemitism targets Jews regardless of how they look, and many in the community are visibly Jewish and suffer racism for it.”

In the interview, Ms Abbott said she “of course” condemns antisemitic behaviour in the same way she would condemn racist behaviour because of the colour of someone’s skin, adding: “I do get a bit weary of people trying to pin the antisemitic label on me because I spent a lifetime facing racism of all kinds.”

Ms Abbott made history when she was elected as Britain’s first black female MP for Labour in 1987.

She is the longest-serving female MP in the Commons, giving her the title “Mother of the House”.

As an MP on the left of the party she has often clashed with the leadership throughout her career – bar her time serving in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet.

Many MPs rallied in support of Ms Abbott last year when it was not clear if she would be reinstated in time for the general election, or allowed to stand.

She went on to retain her seat of Hackney North and Stoke Newington with a majority of over 15,000.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner hinted action could be taken against Ms Abbott when she told The Guardian earlier on Thursday that she was “disappointed” in her colleague’s remarks.

“There’s no place for antisemitism in the Labour Party, and obviously the Labour Party has processes for that,” she said.

A source close to the decision to suspend her told Sky News there is a “very slim chance” she will be allowed back in, given she did antisemitism training and apologised last time.

It raises questions about whether Ms Abbott could join the new party being formed by Mr Corbyn and former Labour MP Zarah Sultana.

For the time being, Ms Abbott will sit in the Commons as an independent MP.

Adnan Hussain, who was elected as the independent MP for Blackburn last year, said on X: “We’d be honoured to have a giant like Diane join us, she [should] come to the side that would really appreciate her for the legend she is.”

UK

Child who died in Minehead school coach crash was 10-year-old boy, police say

Published

4 hours ago

July 18, 2025

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Child who died in Minehead school coach crash was 10-year-old boy, police say

The child who died in a school coach crash in Somerset on Thursday was a 10-year-old boy, Avon and Somerset Police have said.

A specially trained officer is supporting the child’s family, the force said, adding that two children taken to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children by air ambulance remain there as of Friday.

Four children and three adults also remain in hospital in Somerset.

There were between 60 to 70 people on board when the incident happened near Minehead, just before 3pm on Thursday.

The coach was heading to Minehead Middle School when it crashed on the A396 between Wheddon Cross and Timbercombe.

Police said that 21 people were taken to hospital, including two children who were taken via air ambulance.

Gavin Ellis, chief fire officer for Devon and Somerset, said the coach “overturned onto its roof and slid approximately 20ft down an embankment”.

Rachel Gilmour, MP for Tiverton and Minehead, said the road where it happened is “very difficult to manoeuvre”.

“You have a very difficult crossing at Wheddon Cross, and as you come out to dip down into Timbercombe, the road is really windy and there are very steep dips on either side,” she told Sky’s Anna Botting.

It comes after a teacher at Minehead Middle School praised the “incredibly brave” pupils for supporting each other after the coach crash.

“You have looked after each [other] in what was a life-changing event, we will get through this together,” they wrote on Facebook.

“I feel so lucky to be your teacher. I am so grateful to my wonderful colleagues during this time who were also fighting to help as many people as we could.”