AB 5 is a hot mess. Mere months after it took effect, the same politicians who forced AB 5 on California’s workforce are adding more exemptions to the law—bringing the total number of exemptions to over 100. They are all listed below. There’s a reason they have to keep adding fixes to the shoddily crafted legislation: the law is completely unworkable for an extraordinarily large number of professions and occupations. Already, the bill is creating a state of confusion for workers like me. But the scramble to add so many exemptions makes three things undeniably clear to app-based drivers and California voters alike.
First, AB 5 is a bad law. It is poorly constructed and overly broad. You don’t need to be a high-paid labor lawyer to know that. But most importantly, the bill has severe unintended consequences for the ability of hundreds of thousands of Californians to get by.
Second, the politicians pushing for forced employment status are selectively listening to those it impacts. AB 2257, which will likely pass this week and is expected to make it to Governor Newsom’s desk for his signature, would add exemptions for, among other things, competition judges (think beauty pageants), amateur umpires (think little league), and pool cleaners (think Beverly Hills). It also allows for newspaper delivery men and women to work independently, but not food delivery drivers. Ironically, the repo man who comes for my car because I can’t earn enough to make the payments is exempted to do his work, but as an app-based driver, I won’t be able to do mine. Every Californian engaged in these professions deserves to work independently. But why are some Californians allowed that freedom and not others? The logic is confusing at minimum, hypocritical at best, and corrupt at worst.
The author of the bill is Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez of San Diego. She recently said she designed the new bill after a year of consultation with workers. Which workers did she speak with? She didn’t speak to me. And she sure didn’t listen to the vast majority of the nearly one million drivers who earn extra income through app-based platforms. According to recent independent polls, over 70 percent of app-based drivers want to remain independent; they reject being employees. When’s the last time you heard 70 percent of Americans agree on anything? The overwhelming majority of drivers agree that they want the freedom to choose when and how to work. Our voice wasn’t heard when AB 5 was written, and we’re being selectively ignored now.
Third, the latest exemptions make the clear case for Prop 22, which is on the ballot this fall. The Legislature won’t listen to us, but we’re confident the voters will. Prop 22 is the comprehensive and universal solution that all app-based drivers can support. In fact, nearly 100,000 drivers have already signed up to help pass Prop 22 because it will not only save hundreds of thousands of jobs and the services Californians rely on, but create a wage guarantee, access to benefits including health care, and strict safety provisions that protect drivers and passengers.
As a kid, I learned the old saying that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. So doesn’t that make the opposite true? If AB 5 is bad for over 100 categories of professions and occupations, isn’t it equally bad for me and my colleagues who are choosing independent app-based work?
With Prop 22, we’re putting the matter in the hands of the voters. Because clearly, one hundred times over, the Legislature hasn’t listened.
- Accountants
- Amateur referee
- Amateur umpire
- Animal services
- Architects
- Barber
- Calligraphers
- Commercial fishermen/fisherwomen
- Competition judge
- Composer
- Construction industry trucking services subcontractors
- Copy editor
- Cosmetologist
- Dentists
- Direct-sales persons
- Doctors
- Dog groomers
- Dog walkers
- Electrologist
- Engineers
- Enrolled agents
- Errand assistances
- Esthetician
- Event planners
- Feedback aggregator
- Fine artists
- Freelance editors
- Freelance newspaper cartoonists
- Freelance writers
- Furniture assembly
- Grant writers
- Graphic artists
- Graphic designers
- Home cleaners
- Home inspector
- Human resources professionals
- Illustrator
- Independent radio promoter
- Individual performance artist
- Individual performing artist
- Individuals performing services under a contract with a licensed “motor club”
- Insurance brokers
- Insurance loss control professionals
- Insurance premium auditors
- Insurance risk managers
- Insurance underwriter
- International student exchange program operator
- Investment advisers
- Investment adviser’s agents
- Landscape architects
- Lawyers
- Licensed construction industry subcontractors
- Lyricist
- Manager of recording artist
- Manicurist
- Manufactured housing salesperson
- Marketing professionals
- Minor home repairers
- Mixed media artists
- Movers
- Musical composition creator
- Musical composition marketer
- Musical composition promotion
- Musical engineer
- Musical group
- Musical mixer
- Musician
- Music proofer
- Music publicist
- Newspaper carriers
- Newspaper distributors
- Painters
- Payment processing agent
- Photo editor
- Photographers
- Photojournalists
- Picture hangers
- Podiatrists
- Pool cleaners
- Private Investigators
- Psychologists
- Publication content advisor
- Publication content cartographer
- Publication content contributor
- Publication content narrator
- Publication content producer
- Real estate agents
- Real estate appraiser
- Record director
- Recording artist
- Recording photo shoot or album cover photographer
- Record producer
- Register professional foresters
- Repossession agents
- Sculptors
- Securities brokers/dealers
- Songwriter
- Sound recording distributor
- Specialized performing arts master class teacher
- Surgeons
- Translator
- Travel agents
- Tutors
- Veterinarians
- Videographer
- Vocalists
- Web designers
- Yard cleaners