Vote NO on H.R. 1320

I am writing today to urge you to vote against H.R. 1320. This bill would remove minimum wage and overtime protections, non-discrimination protections, the right to organize and bargain collectively, the right to family and medical leave, and more from workers who receive a portable employment benefit – like a health care plan – from an employer upon whom they are obviously economically dependent – where that provision of benefits would otherwise help establish the workers’ employment status. Employment status is a matter of economic reality, and the provision of benefits is a big part of that reality. This bill puts a thumb on the scale to allow employers to misclassify workers as independent contractors rather than employees, shielding employers from their legal responsibilities and stripping workers of their hard-won legal rights. This is especially concerning for frequently misclassified employees in the construction and arts industries, who, although supposedly the primary beneficiaries of this bill, will undoubtedly face higher levels of misclassification if it is enacted. The very recognition of the need to provide misclassified workers with benefits underscores the economic reality: they are economically dependent on their employers, not running their own independent businesses. A key solution is to stop misclassifying workers as independent contractors and strengthen and enforce the law, not disempower working people as this bill would do. Please do whatever possible to stop this from passing in the House.