{"id":2249,"date":"2020-01-16T11:00:15","date_gmt":"2020-01-16T18:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=2249"},"modified":"2020-01-16T13:05:59","modified_gmt":"2020-01-16T20:05:59","slug":"ab-5-wreaking-havoc-on-self-employment-in-san-diego","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=2249","title":{"rendered":"AB 5 Wreaking Havoc on Self-Employment in San Diego"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Thomas Geiser<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

A recent study by Cloud Kitchens, a Los Angeles based startup for \u201cvirtual deliver only restaurants,\u201d found that 206,000 San Diegans are self-employed. That is roughly 12.2% of the workforce of San Diego County. This makes San Diego the third-largest hub of self-employment in the country after Miami and Los Angeles.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, this flourishing self-employed economy is under threat from the now infamous piece of legislation called Assembly Bill 5. AB 5 makes it more difficult for companies to hire workers as independent contractors. The new benchmark says that a worker is an employee if they \u201cperform tasks under a company\u2019s control, their work is integral to the company\u2019s business, and they do not have an independent enterprise in that trade.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Employees are given benefits unlike independent contractors, which invariably costs the employer more to hire full-time workers. Independent contractor work provides more freedom to the worker while allowing the company to hire more people since they do not have to pay for all of the additional employee benefits. Excellent examples of such companies include Uber and Lyft.<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s also worth noting that the enforcement costs of AB 5 are inordinate. These costs will, of course, be paid for by taxpayers who are already being negatively impacted by the bill.<\/p>\n

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Governor's 2020 budget provides $20 million to enforce #AB5<\/a> – going after small business and freelancers in California. #FixAB5<\/a> #AB5hurts<\/a> #caleg<\/a> @GavinNewsom<\/a> @CAgovernor<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/OU3qB7ROj2<\/a><\/p>\n

— CA Senate Republicans (@CASenReps) January 10, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n