Many laws have unexpected consequences, but in the case of California Assembly Bill 5, crafted to crack down against the gig economy, the harm to freelance writers could have been foreseen by a blindfolded toddler. The measure was meant to address real concerns about companies like Uber exploiting freelance labor. But dragging writers into its net has wrought devastating consequences for ink-stained wretches in the Golden State.
The law limits the number of articles a freelancer can sell to an outlet in a year without being an employee. But many journalists make careers out of writing frequently for a few outlets. The damage has already been done. The liberal media group Vox, which cheered the legislation, recently gave the ax to 200 California freelancers at one of its outlets.
Now, lawmakers in New York and New Jersey are considering similar legislation, and it is a terrifying prospect for freelance writers in the two states, including one of us.
The California gig law’s sponsor, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, apparently didn’t care much about the problems it would pose to writers. She practically pulled the article cap — 35 — out of a hat.
She thoughtlessly lumped in writers with ride-share drivers by using the a so-called ABC clause. To wit, a worker can be considered a freelancer and not an employee if the boss can’t tell her what to do; if she isn’t providing the product that is sold; and so long as her contract doesn’t prohibit her from working with other entities.
The aim is noble: to ensure that gig laborers have the protections that those who worked in these industries used to have.
While the gig economy has allowed unprecedented freedom and flexibility for those who want it, it has also bred insecurity for many others.
But the law is a bane to creative giggers, who resolutely want their freedom and/or wouldn’t get any work if media companies are forced to treat them as full-timers. They, too, get caught in the “ABC” trap. Work that writers do for news and media outlets is not separate from the work the outlets perform; a writer produces the very content that is sold by outlets.
New York and New Jersey lawmakers say they are trying to avoid some of these pitfalls, but it’s still unclear what they intend to do about freelancers who are more small-business owners than exploited workers.
As it is, the laws will likely bring ruination upon full-time freelancers, who would simply lose out on work, as well as those for whom an extra $1,000 per month of freelance work makes possible a car payment, a nice meal or better Christmas presents for the kids.
Parents who prioritize raising their kids over full-time work outside the home will be forced to sign over their independence to wage labor (if they can find it), and their kids to paid child care. This economic ignorance will punish industrious workers who take their destiny into their own hands
Plus, freelance journalists are a valued and valuable part of the media ecosystem. A news media in which every voice marches dutifully from journalism school into a full-time job is a recipe not only for boredom, but for a top-down control of content that favors mainly large, progressive institutions over individual voices.
For the freelance journalists themselves, it is even worse. This is a passion they get paid for, not a millstone around their necks. It is also a means for advancement in the profession.
A way to get noticed and published more, sometimes even hired. Had such laws existed just a few years ago when we began our new, mid-life careers in journalism, you would very likely not be reading this.
New York, of all places, must never entertain such stark limitations on the pursuit of writing. This is where writers come, it always has been the place and it isn’t usually with a job offer in hand. It’s usually with attitude, confidence and a burning desire to prove themselves.
We don’t want the state to call our bosses and tell them how great we are. We want to fight for pixels on screens and inches in columns, and we want to do it on our own terms.
David Marcus and Libby Emmons are contributors to The Federalist.