By Mary O’KEEFE

During the recent campaigns for the Nov. 3 election there seemed to be some confusion between AB 5 and HR 2474. These are two legislative bills that deal with labor but do not deal with the same issues.
AB 5 refers to California State Assembly Bill 5 that went into effect on Jan. 1. The bill is a response to a 2018 California Supreme Court ruling in the Dynamex case that required companies in California to follow what is known as the ABC test. It is a three-point test that determines if a worker is an employee or an independent contractor.

This bill specifically targets “gig workers” or independent contractors. Before and after the bill passed there were lawsuits filed and exemptions issued.

There is also confusion as to which exemptions will remain in place, which will terminate and what new ones may be put into place. A concern comes from independent contractors who, according to reports, are finding it difficult to continue working in their chosen fields. For example, many in the film industry work as independent contractors. According to reports, states that do not have a restrictive “gig law” are openly inviting the film industry to their state where companies do not have to hire workers as employees.

Voters approved Prop. 22 that allows companies like Uber and Lyft to classify their drivers as independent contractors.

There are still several lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of AB 5.

In contrast, HR 2474, called the Pro Act [Protecting the Right to Organize Act], is a federal law. HR designates the House of Representatives as the origin of the bill. This bill was passed in Congress.
HR 2474 was introduced into the House of Representatives on May 2, 2019. As bills do, it traveled through committees, was amended and debated and finally voted on in the House on Feb. 6, 2020. It was passed with a 224-194 vote. It is now awaiting approval in the Senate. This is a bill that targets the relationship between employees, unions and employers. It, according to supporters, would strengthen the rights of employees to organize.

Congressman Adam Schiff supported, not co-authored, this bill.

“I was proud to support HR 2474, the PRO Act, earlier this year when the House passed it on a bipartisan vote because it is the most progressive and far-reaching labor reform in generations. It would put in place new protections for the right to organize and collectively bargain, helping employees and working families, rather than big corporations that have chipped away at labor rights for decades,” Schiff stated in an interview with CVW. “The need for a reinvigorated labor movement is apparent all around us, and the decline in organized labor, in my view, is a significant factor in the growing inequality and the slow growth in wages that we have seen even during periods of immense economic growth. I am hopeful that the PRO Act can advance through the Senate and be signed into law because doing so would mean ensuring that millions of Americans can benefit from the right to organize and join a union to improve their wages, benefits, and working conditions.”
Although the bills appear to be similar because they both focus on employees’ status, AB 5 deals with determining who is an employee and who is an independent contractor while the PRO Act determines issues affecting the right to organize.

The workforce was changing prior to COVID-19 and, in the future, it is certain the pandemic will have changed the employee/employer landscape in ways not yet realized.

“I believe that there is an urgent need to update our laws and labor protections to account for the fact that ‘traditional’ employment structures are increasingly unusual. I led the effort in the House to make sure that freelancers and independent contractors were not left out of unemployment compensation and I was pleased that the CARES Act included broad eligibility for unemployment benefits which have helped millions of these nontraditional workers get help,” Schiff added.