[The Hollywood Reporter] A new bill that caps freelance submissions may make writing financially unsustainable for many workers even though the legislator (Lorena Gonzalez, D-Union Whore)
behind the law insists that the goal is "to create new good jobs and a livable, sustainable wage job."
| The road to Hell is paved with good intentions, ‘tis said. |
| Secondary effects — always a shock when thinking is not one of one’s skillz. |
Jeret is now coming to terms with how her lifestyle will change come Jan. 1, when AB 5, California legislation aimed directly at the gig economy that was signed into law Sept. 18, will go into effect.
The bill, which cracks down on companies — like ride-sharing giants Lyft and Uber — that misclassify would-be employees as independent contractors, has been percolating through the California legislative system for nearly a year. It codifies the 2018 Dynamex decision by the State Supreme Court while carving out some exemptions for specific professions.
But the exemption for freelance journalists — which some have only just learned about via their colleagues, press reports, social networks and/or spirited arguments with the bill's author on Twitter — contains what some say is a potentially career-ending requirement for a writer to remain a freelancer: If a freelance journalist writes for a magazine, newspaper or other entity whose central mission is to disseminate the news, the law says, that journalist is capped at writing 35 "submissions" per year per "putative employer." At a time when paid freelance stories can be written for a low end of $25 and high end of $1 per word, some meet that cap in a month just to make end's meet.
Amy Lamare, who writes for money site Celebritynetworth.com and YourTango.com, adds, "Everyone's freaking out, like my anxiety is going through the damn roof."
| Lots lots more at the link |