Letter to the editor: Washington should stop punishing contractor-dependent businesses
· The Washington TimesOPINION:
In Washington, policymakers often talk about “protecting workers” as if every American wants the same schedule, structure and career path.
But many independent workers don’t want a traditional 9-to-5 job. They want flexibility, autonomy and the chance to build something of their own. Small businesses like mine depend on that choice being respected.
My husband and I own Pay It Forward Processing, a small business that provides credit card processing services to other small businesses. Our office staff are employees, but our sales team has long been made up of independent contractors.
They set their own schedules, build their own client relationships and choose the schedule that works best for them. In fact, our entire sales team has said they would walk away rather than become employees.
I have seen what happens when government ignores those realities. California’s AB5, which forced many independent contractors to reclassify as employees, made it nearly impossible for our business model to function there, and my family relocated to Arizona rather than watch our company be crushed.
That’s why the Biden administration’s 2024 Labor Department rule was so troubling. It used a vague, open-ended, seven-factor balancing test that left small businesses guessing. Owners were expected to navigate a maze of factors without knowing how regulators would weigh them.
The current proposed rule is markedly different — and far better. Instead of a sprawling, subjective test, it gives greater weight to two commonsense questions: ’Who controls how the work is done?’ and ’Does the worker have a real opportunity for profit or loss?’
It’s clearer, more predictable and better aligned with the way real independent businesses operate.
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Just as important, the proposal recognizes that independent contractors aren’t a loophole or a problem to be solved. As my fellow small business owner on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Council, Elaine Buxton, advised lawmakers recently before the House Small Business Committee, freelancers and independent contractors are a vital part of the economy.
Small businesses need rules we can understand and follow. We don’t have teams of lawyers on retainer.
No rule is perfect, but this proposal would move federal policy toward a more workable, consistent approach.
Washington should stop assuming it knows better than workers and small employers. If policymakers truly want to help Main Street, they should preserve Americans’ freedom to choose independent work.
RENEE VAN HEEL
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Co-owner, Pay it Forward Processing
Cave Creek, Arizona