...that is seemingly non-partisan. So, maybe a good break from the Trump/Biden bashing.

There is a proposition on the ballot out here in Cali (Prop 22) that many refer to as the UBER bill. While this is a Cali issue right now, it could be coming to a town near you soon. I provided a link below for anyone interested in more info.

Here is the basic situation, which I'm going to oversimplify, so please correct me if I misstate anything (which I doubt will be a problem on this board!):

-- "Gig" workers -- i.e., independent contractors, not W2 employees -- currently have near total freedom/flexibility in their work, which they like, but they get no benefits, no minimum wage, no unemployment insurance, etc., which they don't like The best-known gig workers are UBER drivers, but they exist in many other areas of the economy, too. There are a LOT of gig workers in California.

-- A law went into effect earlier this year (AB5) that basically laid out who generally is and is not truly an "independent contractor" in the eyes of the law. UBER/Lyft (and other companies) have said that the law doesn't apply to "app-based drivers", but CA says that it does. There’s been a lot of litigation already. UBER/Lyft nearly shut down their CA operations a few months ago as result, so this is serious business.

-- The problem for UBER is that if their drivers essentially become employees, then UBER's costs skyrocket, including liability issues, which, in turn, means that the cost of an UBER ride skyrockets, which, in turn, would be bad for their business. Many drivers also oppose AB5 because they want to maintain their freedom/flexibility.

-- Prop 22 basically codifies that "app-based drivers" specifically are independent contractors, thus overriding CA's position on AB5, but also institutes a more watered-down version of worker protections, guarantees, etc., relative to traditional state employment law.

So, the question for the board is where would you come down on this issue? Do you think the state is correct in requiring all these workers and companies to operate in the state-mandated way (even if the workers and companies don't want to), or do you think the workers/companies should be able to decide this on their own.

I've found in discussing this out here with friends that opinions are all over the place, not really breaking down along party lines, so it's an interesting issue to me.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
[Post edited by Los Angeles Hoo at 10/24/2020 11:17AM]