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Independent contractors

GCW professional wrestlers | Illustration: Eddie Marshall

Deregulation

State Regulations Make Wrestling Less Fun

Missouri's denial of Miyu Yamashita's wrestling license, despite a valid work visa, is a microcosm of overregulation that hurts professional wrestlers and the industry across the country.

Tosin Akintola | 6.25.2025 11:50 AM

dreamstime_xxl_339609754 | ID 339609754 © Yuri Arcurs | Dreamstime.com

Social Media

Influencers Are Here To Stay—Now It's Time To Modernize Labor Laws

A TikTok ban could devastate thousands of independent workers, but the real challenge lies in modernizing labor laws to support the new economy.

Liya Palagashvili and Susannah Petitt | 12.21.2024 7:00 AM

A photo illustration of toy cars as Uber and Lyft vehicles | Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

California

California's Unions Lost Their Long Battle Against Uber and Lyft

The state Supreme Court unanimously ruled that ridesharing drivers can be exempted from California's crackdown on independent contracting.

Steven Greenhut | 8.9.2024 7:30 AM

Sign on a dark, empty street reads, "Lyft, Uber pickup here." | Photo 150010020 © Jonathan Weiss | Dreamstime.com

Regulation

Minneapolis Is About To Kill Ride-Sharing

Chasing Seattle's shadow, Minneapolis' new ride-share wage law threatens to derail the gig economy.

C. Jarrett Dieterle | 4.13.2024 7:00 AM

John Stossel is seen next to a graphic about "the bill that killed freelance" | Stossel TV

Regulation

New Federal Rules for Independent Contractors Will Destroy Freelancers' Livelihoods

A similar law in California had disastrous consequences.

John Stossel | 4.10.2024 12:30 AM

Joe Biden walks past a playground and waves | Sipa USA/Newscom

Labor

What the Biden Administration Could Learn From California's Attempt To Ban Independent Contracting

Instead, the White House is pushing for similar job-killing regulations on the national level.

Steven Greenhut | 4.5.2024 7:30 AM

A delivery driver hands off a paper bag of takeout food to a customer. | Prathan Chorruangsak | Dreamstime.com

Seattle

Seattle Law Mandating Higher Delivery Driver Pay Is a Disaster

Just two weeks after the law went into effect, Seattleites had to contend with $26 coffees and $32 sandwiches.

C. Jarrett Dieterle | 3.16.2024 7:00 AM

Inside a minivan, a man in a blue polo shirt drives two passengers in the back seat, and all three are smiling. | Tampa Bay Times/ZUMA Press/Newscom

Employment

Biden's Independent Contractor Rule Threatens the Evolution of Work

Much-desired flexibility for gig workers is in jeopardy.

Amanda Griffiths | 3.11.2024 3:30 PM

Uber and Lyft drivers doing gig work as independent contractors. | Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

Regulation

California's Attack on Gig Work Predictably Drove Workers Out of Jobs

Self-employment in California fell by 10.5 percent and overall employment tumbled by 4.4 percent after A.B. 5's implementation.

Eric Boehm | 1.18.2024 11:45 AM

rideshare driver | Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/es/@plhnk?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Paul Hanaoka</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/D-qq7W751vs?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>

Courts

Ride-Share and Delivery Drivers Are Independent Contractors, Says Court

Plus: College says abortion art runs afoul of state law, the politics of Silicon Valley Bank's collapse, and more...

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 3.14.2023 9:35 AM

Hands holding a phone | Photo 40335730 © Stelya | Dreamstime.com

Employment

New York Floats a Crackdown on Independent Workers

Like California’s ruinous A.B. 5, the proposal would greatly harm freelance employment.

David McGarry | 2.17.2023 4:50 PM

Truckers protesting at Oakland's port | Michael Ho Wai Lee/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom

California

Truckers Shut Down California Port Fighting for the Right To Be Their Own Bosses

The terrible consequences of A.B. 5 keep coming.

Scott Shackford | 7.21.2022 1:35 PM

cuffedwriter_1161x653 | Weerapat Kiatdumrong / Dreamstime.com

Labor

Federal Court Upholds California's Oppressive Restrictions on Freelance Writers

A panel has unanimously determined the First Amendment isn’t violated if state regulations keep independent writers from landing work.

Scott Shackford | 10.12.2021 1:00 PM

dan-gold-kARZuSYMfrA-unsplash | Photo by Dan Gold on Unsplash  Copy to clipboard

California

California's 'Landmark' Labor Law Is Still Wreaking Economic Havoc

It's the sign of particularly bad legislation when lawmakers must create dozens of carve-outs and workarounds so that the supposed beneficiaries are exempted from its provisions.

Steven Greenhut | 9.10.2021 8:00 AM

Bidenproact_1161x653 | Melina Mara/CNP / Polaris/Newscom

Jobs

If Biden Truly Wanted To Create Jobs, He Wouldn't Support the PRO Act

Destroying the ability of freelancers to make a living is union protectionism, not economic opportunity.

Scott Shackford | 4.29.2021 11:45 AM

8092261_thumbnail | MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS/Newscom

Independent contractors

Unions Lost a Major Battle in Their War on the Gig Economy

Nearly 60 percent of Californians approved a proposition to exempt Uber and Lyft from most of Assembly Bill 5.

John Osterhoudt | 11.7.2020 9:30 AM

ibpremium894382 | imageBROKER/Valentin Wolf/Newscom

Election 2020

California's Proposition 22 Pits the Future Against Its Enemies

The ballot initiative would allow companies such as Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash to classify workers as independent contractors rather than as permanent employees.

Steven Greenhut | 10.30.2020 8:00 AM

Department of Labor

Department of Labor Proposes New Rule Protecting the Right To Be a Gig Worker

In a reaction to California's Assembly Bill 5, the Department of Labor's new proposed rule will make it harder for gig workers to be defined as employees

Sam Rutzick | 9.24.2020 3:35 PM

lyfttent_1161x653 | Gado Images/Smith Collection/Gado/Sipa USA/Newscom

Independent contractors

California's Job-Killing A.B. 5 Scaled Back, but Only for Some Professions

Rideshare drivers and delivery people are still going to have to beg voters to let them work.

Scott Shackford | 9.8.2020 1:45 PM

featurekavin | wandaalmira/Fiverr

Independent contractors

I Don't Want To Be Anybody's Employee

The push to reclassify independent contractors is harming many of the workers it's supposed to help.

Kim Kavin | 7.5.2020 6:00 AM

topicseconomy | MCCAIG/iStock

Economics

California's Gig Economy Is Under Attack 

"Companies can simply blacklist California writers and work with writers in other states, and that's exactly what's happening."

Billy Binion | 3.5.2020 6:00 AM

reasontv_video_8045009_thumbnail1

Independent contractors

In California, Protecting Workers Means Outlawing Their Jobs

Assembly Bill 5 was designed to constrain the growth of the so-called gig economy. In practice, it's closing off opportunities

John Osterhoudt | 2.5.2020 11:30 AM

zumaamericastwentysix177874

Sharing Economy

In a Win for the Gig Economy, California Judge Exempts Truckers From Problematic Assembly Bill 5

The new law seeks to reclassify contractors as employees.

Billy Binion | 1.10.2020 5:15 PM

book1 | University of California Press

Uber

An Incomplete Map of Uberland

In its eagerness to make the case against Uber, a new book makes a pretty good case for Uber.

Brian Doherty | 12.28.2019 6:00 AM

birfphotos212553 | Dmitry Ageev Blend Images/Newscom

Reason Roundup

California Freelancers Suffer From Totally Predictable 'Unintended Consequences' of Gig Worker Protection Bill

Plus: Is there anything the upcoming spending bill doesn't contain? And more...

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 12.17.2019 9:30 AM

rollcallpix091915 | Congressional Quarterly/CQ Roll Call/Newscom

Freedom

Free People Don't Ask the Government for Permission

"Liberty," Thomas Jefferson wrote, "is unobstructed action according to our will; but rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will, within the limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others."

Steven Greenhut | 11.22.2019 8:00 AM

tiphotos063793(1) | Bryan Mullennix Tetra Images/Newscom

Labor

California's 'Workers Rights' Bill Does No Favors to Drivers or Consumers

California lawmakers have approved Assembly Bill 5, which poses an existential threat to the gig economy in the state.

Steven Greenhut | 9.13.2019 12:15 AM

uberunion | Gabriele Holtermann-Gorden/ZUMA Press/Newscom

Sharing Economy

Uber Drivers Cannot Unionize, Says National Labor Relations Board

A memo says the drivers are contractors, not employees.

Billy Binion | 5.15.2019 5:45 PM

rtrlten919334 | Lucy Nicholson/REUTERS/Newscom

Sharing Economy

Labor Department: Gig Workers Are Contractors, Not Employees

It's a common sense but crucial indication of how federal regulators classify workers who earn money through online platforms like Uber and TaskRabbit.

Eric Boehm | 4.30.2019 12:10 PM

Large image on homepages | Joanna Andreasson

Sharing Economy

Taxes, But for Uber

Eric Boehm | 12.1.2017 12:00 PM

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