U.S. Senate, Here We Come

I'll be among the witnesses testifying at this week's HELP Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., about independent-contractor policy.

Just when you thought the excitement building to protect independent contractors couldn’t get any bigger, the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee has announced a hearing about a package of bills intended to make life easier for self-employed Americans.

I’ll be among the witnesses at the hearing, which is titled “Freedom to Work: Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers.” It starts at 10 a.m. on Thursday. You can tune in live here to watch.

Photo by Sara Cottle on Unsplash

I’m grateful to the Senate HELP Committee for this opportunity, in particular the whole team in Chairman Bill Cassidy’s office. I’m also thrilled that an actual independent contractor will be at the witness table to talk about independent-contractor policy. As I testified before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections in May, my top recommendation to stop all this horrible freelance busting is to give independent contractors meaningful seats at all of the policymaking tables, state and federal alike.

This is what it looks like when some of the most powerful lawmakers in the country actually listen—and it’s a true joy to see after so many years of horrible policymaking that was done about us, but without us.

Also at the Witness Table…

My fellow witnesses for our side will include Patrice Onwuka of the Independent Women’s Forum, whom you may remember from this Q&A in January.

Onwuka’s organization has new research about independent contracting that should help lawmakers understand why it’s smart policy and smart politics to respect us and protect us. Expect to hear Onwuka testify about some or all of this on Thursday:

Also testifying for our side will be Kev Coleman of Association Health Plans, Inc. He’s an expert on American health insurance who wrote Association Health Plans & The Future of American Health Insurance. He’s been quoted in lots of places over the years, including on CNBC, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and Consumer Reports.

For the opposition, the witnesses will be Timothy J. Driscoll, president of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, and Karen Friedman, executive director of the Pension Rights Center, which is a decades-long ally of the AFL-CIO.

You can go ahead and choose your fighters now. But I’ll tell you, looking at this lineup, I like our side’s chances. A lot.

I’ll see you live on camera from Washington, D.C., this Thursday morning.