Republican senators unveil "portable benefits" bill for gig workers
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Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-L.A.) unveiled a bill on Monday that would make it easier for companies to offer benefits to gig workers without making them full-fledged employees.
Why it matters: As more Americans turn to gig work and self-employment, there's a growing push to get them access to things like paid sick leave, health insurance and retirement benefits.
Zoom in: Called the Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act, the bill is part of legislative package from Cassidy, along with Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). Both also plan on unveiling related bills Monday.
How it works: Under the legislation, companies would be able to voluntarily offer benefits without taking on the liabilities involved in actually employing these workers and having to pay for unemployment insurance, overtime pay and workers' comp.
- "Outdated labor laws should not prevent workers from receiving health care or saving for a secure retirement," Cassidy said in a statement.
The big picture: There's been a decade-long fight over the employment status of gig workers.
- Labor advocates argued companies like Uber and Lyft should treat them like employees. The Biden administration and some states tried to push businesses in this direction with proposed laws and lawsuits.
- Companies and Republicans — even some workers — aggressively fought back, arguing that drivers were independent contractors. They largely won.
- Portable benefits are increasingly seen as the way forward.
Reality check: Cassidy's proposal doesn't mandate that employers offer workers anything. It also comes on the heels of a massive Republican cut to Medicaid, a key benefit for low-income workers.
- So far, a few voluntary programs from companies have been extremely modest. In a pilot program in Pennsylvania, DoorDash put 4% of workers' pre-tip wages in a savings account for them — amounting to less than $400 over 12 months. About a third used the money to take time off.
Zoom out: This law is just a small first step; it doesn't rule out setting up new standards and protections for workers, says Liya Palagashvili, a senior research fellow at the conservative Mercatus Center at George Mason University, who's been working on this issue for a decade.
- "The voluntary nature of it makes this sort of thing more likely with Republican lawmakers," she says. But the broader concept of expanding benefits to independent workers is drawing interest from both parties, she adds.
The bottom line: The package is a GOP swing at labor law, a way to embrace President Trump's populist positioning within a more conservative, business-friendly frame.
