Protecting Freelancers, Independent Contractors and Gig Workers

My opponent’s deception never ends. He acts like he supports our District’s many freelancers, independent contractors and gig workers – all of whom are having their livelihoods and ways of life decimated by state law AB-5 which was dropped on us by Sacramento’s Democrat Super-Majority. Unbeknownst to many in the District, my opponent is a co-sponsor of a federal version of AB-5 now pending in Congress. If it passes, independent contractors would be banned nationwide. I support small government. AB-5 is a classic example of big government overreach swooping down and destroying people.

Before becoming an attorney many years ago, I worked as a freelancer and an independent contractor, including producing short films, editing documentaries, writing episodes of the “GI Joe” and “Jem and the Holograms” animated series, and producing trailers for King of the B-movies Roger Corman. Those jobs were freelance jobs. Without the ability to work as an independent contractor, I never could have done those jobs.

When I get to Washington, D.C., I will do whatever I can to prevent the federal version of AB-5 from becoming law, and I will support everyone here in California working to repeal AB-5.

And for the time being, we need to get help from the government for those independent contractors who also were partially paid as W-2 employees. That was the life I lived for several years: 1099 and W-2, I know it well, and the Federal CARES Act currently prevents those workers from any of the help being made available to so many others suffering nationwide.