Stripper exempted from AB5

Good afternoon, I am writing to bring to your attention to the negative impacts of California Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) on the adult dancing industry. Since its passage in 2019, AB5 has hugely impacted the gig economy and the on-demand economy, and not for the better. This bill has been one of the most significant developments in labor and employee law in California in decades. Unfortunately, this legislation has not resolved the issues it was designed to fix and has had broad unintended negative consequences, especially for strippers and adult entertainers in California. We are asking for a ballot initiative for strippers to have a choice of exempt or not from AB5. So a choice to be an independent contractor or an employee. We want a choice. The implications of this law have been heavily felt in strip clubs all over the state. As soon as adult entertainers were reclassified as employees, managers and owners of major adult entertainment centers enacted exclusionary hiring practices that have disproportionately negatively impacted people of color, queer and trans folks, and immigrants. Additionally, the increased requirements for documentation for employees vs independent contractor forces the must vulnerable out the clubs and into unsafe underground work. Further, to keep profits, many clubs have cut their rosters in half. Not only do these cuts violate anti-discrimination laws and uphold racism, transphobia, and xenophobia, it has also meant that thousands of dancers are without work. Clubs have also passed the cost of insurance and other fringe costs related to employee status on to their dancers by way of outrageous house fees and low wages. It is important to emphasize that the most marginalized dancers did not have input in the shaping of this law, and we have been unable to escape its harms. Without real understanding of how disruptive AB5 has been for the most oppressed workers in California, our legislators cannot understand its impact on many different gig industries. The most marginalized strippers can no longer be silent, but must speak up to let our legislators know what is happened to us up to this point. We want to have a choice to either be exempted or not, independent contractors or , an employee. We want a law to make this possible. Sincerely