Scott Meslow: "So: I just lost my first gig to AB5. If you’ll indulge a thread, I want to give some firsthand perspective on why this law is so misguided and so incredibly destructive to people in my position. First: I am very specifically NOT looking for full-time work right now. I’m writing a book, and I don’t have the time or bandwidth for a full-time job on top of it. It was a very conscious and active choice to turn those opportunities down as I looked ahead to 2020. What I want and need—and what, unless AB5 gets in the way, I will have—is steady freelance work to maintain both a public profile and a source of income on top of my book advance. One of those gigs is now gone. I hope the others don’t follow. The solution, from my perspective? I could move. But my work requires proximity to the entertainment industry, and my wife’s job is here. Either way, I’m pretty sure the goal of AB5 isn’t to make people leave California. So instead, I’ll just work around AB5 by writing fewer stories for a greater variety of publications. That’s more taxing on my end—and counter to the actual goal of AB5—but I don’t see a better solution until this idiotic thing finally gets overturned. But even in the best-case scenario: I’m going to lose money I was counting on, and for absolutely no reason. That gig, and others like it, will just go to writers in other states. Even if this gets rewritten or overturned, those opportunities will be gone. Finally, and most importantly: Even though this sucks for me, I’m in a rarified position. I have enough contacts, and enough of a platform, that I can find other sources of income. For writers who are just starting out, it won’t be so easy. In the end, what you have is a law that hurts everybody it’s supposed to help, and that disproportionately hurts people who need help the most: Those who use freelancing to break into a difficult industry. That list includes all the people we need in journalism most: People without connections or deep pockets, who rely on entry-level freelancing to pay the rent and make the connections that will let them break into the jobs they actually deserve. I don’t blame any editors who are nervous about working with writers in California right now. That said: Please keep working with us—because everything else just got that much harder for us. And in the meantime: If there are any opportunities that me or other stressed-out, California-based writers should know about, send them my way and I’ll RT. Since this is still making the rounds, one thing I want to clarify: I’m a progressive, and I think the stated goal of AB5 is a good one. Employers shouldn't be able to indefinitely string along employees who are doing full-time work by misclassifying them. The problem is that the law as written—and certainly as it applies to freelance journalism—is that it lumps in gigs that are not (and should not) be classified as full-time. There's so much variance in the nature of a "gig" in the gig economy, and AB5 doesn’t account for that. Certainly anyone who actually works in journalism could have told you that setting a strict limit of 35 "submissions" per publication—regardless of whether each individual submission is a 5,000-word reported profile or a 200-word news hit—makes absolutely no sense. It’s a sledgehammer where a chisel was needed. And it’s very frustrating that the many, many people who raised these exact concerns in the months before AB5 actually went into effect were dismissed."
Jackie Bryant: "No worker can be held liable...who cares about that when we won't even be workers anymore? I just lost three clients that make up a nice chunk of my income due to their concern over #AB5. I am dreading next year and my income is already suffering."
Zack Ruskin: "Sadly, I can now confirm that due to #AB5, I will no longer be able to continue "Chem Tales" for @SFWeekly on a weekly basis in 2020. I've written it every week for over three years. The paper is losing quality content and I'm losing my anchor gig. #AltWeekliesForever."
Toni Towe: "Dear @LorenaSGonzalez , My biggest client just informed me that they are now limiting how much I can work for them to make sure we aren’t considered employees even though we vetted and met B2B exception. Thanks a million! Btw... they are exempt from it. #RepealAB5 #AB5stories."
Selene: "Thanks to @lorenaAD80 & #AB5, the income that enabled me to pay bills & eat was wiped out practically overnight. But I've been given the opportunity to APPLY for a few part-time jobs. Operative words: Apply & Part-time. Neutral face #AB5stories #20YearsFreelancingDownTheDrain."
Ashley Morgan: "Just trying to pay rent and make a living in California and now I have to pay hundreds of dollars on a lawyer to figure out how I can keep singing/gigging under #AB5 Thanks for this nightmare @LorenaSGonzalez and @GavinNewsom Protection is the last thing I’m feeling right now."
Chad Reisser: "Hey @LorenaSGonzalez . I just wanted to pop in and tell you I was talking to a composer friend who’s already lost 1/3rd of his projected 2020 income due to AB5. That work is going out of state, today. Right now. This is not hypothetical."
Will Kennedy: "...and the hits keep coming. Composer friend wrote this morning to let me know he’s lost 2 scoring jobs from a client who is “no longer employing California freelancers.” due to #AB5 @LorenaAD80 @GavinNewsom @hertzieLA WE NEED A SOLUTION NOW! Our business is bleeding!"
Michelle Mears, reported by KUSI News: "Michelle Mears has been a freelance journalist for 20 years. The flexibility has allowed her to continue her career as a Military wife, mom, and student. Mears says #AB5 has made it harder for her to find work.
Full Interview: https://bit.ly/36I1hmF"
Appraisers Blogs: "Amrock recently sent their California fee panel appraisers an email informing them it will suspend the use of fee panel appraisers in California, in order to comply with AB5 law..."
Adam Stein: "Under stupid consequences. California passed AB5 which was intended to HELP employees who were unfairly treated as contractors. My wife teaches yoga a few hours a week; both studios where she teaches fired all their instructors in part because of the new law. Some help. The money wasn't a big deal, but the experience was really valuable for her as she tries to build a following. Thanks @CAgovernor. I hope you'll consider amending the law to not apply to anyone working less than 20 hours a week for an employer. That IS a contractor."
Adrianne Duncan, Ari Herstand, reported by KUSI News: "Ari Herstand is an independent musician and blogger, the author of the best-selling book How To Make It in the New Music Business and the founder of the music business advice company Ari’s Take. Forbes calls Ari Herstand “the poster child of DIY music.”
Adrianne Duncan is an independent pianist, singer, songwriter, composer, educator and producer in Los Angeles. She sings with improvisational vocal group Fish to Birds in addition to solo work. She also co-started the Facebook group California Music Professionals United which has more than 1,000 members.
Since AB 5 took effect, Ari and Adrianne said they have seen dozens of performers, mixers, engineers, music teachers, orchestra ensembles, etc. lose jobs and contracts. They were in studio to tell us about how the bill has impacted them."
Jake Stew: "Lost the job I’d had for 4.5 years & all benefits I had accrued as a lease operator for a trucking company outside of California because of this law."
Faultlines: "Hey Faultlines fam! We sadly MAY need to cancel all future shows. We are working hard to navigate through the new CA #AB5 law, but as we are not a corporation that can pay band members on a payroll, we are unsure of how to proceed. We will let you know ASAP.
As for now, if you love live music and seeing local bands play, we urge you to call your CA legislators and express your frustrations with #AB5 and what it’s doing to freelance musicians.
We thank you for your continued support and hope that an exemption will allow us to continue playing shows for you! #loveisallweown #ab5stories #supportlocalbands #folkmusic @LorenaSGonzalez @GavinNewsom"
Mary, reported by KUSI News: "Mary, an interpreter, says that she can no longer make a living because of #AB5.
The bill's author @LorenaSGonzalez responded to Mary's story saying "I'm sorry, and I feel that she does feel that way, but I don't think it's true."
Full Interview: https://bit.ly/36Kjwrr"
Melissa Schuman: "My family & I have been seriously considering moving out of CA & now with #AB5 it’s the last straw. My husband & I have worked in the entertainment industry & are #SAG members for 20+ years. We simply cannot afford to live here in CA anymore because of bills like #AB5 #RepealAB5."
"M", Twitter handle @chinamantrking: "I’m going to have to shut down Jan 1st 2020. My brokers told me I can’t get jobs from them. Shouldn’t we have a choice who we work for? This is not fair at all. Are you going to help us real owner operators with getting jobs? I’m lost for words #fairness #AB5 @LorenaSGonzalez."
Charles Patton: "Now that I'm officially not a freelance copywriter anymore, but just a part-time freelance translator, I'll be exiting the #AB5 debate to focus on financial survival. Not having $ for lawyer or business lic'ing, and certain not going to be hired, I'll be pursuing other endeavors."
Later deleted Twitter account.
Brittany Maldonado: "“We’re sorry, but due to recent changes in legislation, we [Verblio] cannot currently accept new writers from your state.” #AB5 #AB5stories @GavinNewsom @Rendon63rd @BenAllenCA @laurafriedman43 @ChristyforCA25 @cafwu @KevinKileyCA"
Nat Eliason, founder of Growth Machine: "This new California employment law is so ridiculous.
It's ~90% looking like we'll have to stop working with any freelance writer in California, mostly to cover our ass.
We have a few writers in CA making 5 figures with us, and their state just ruined that.
Most freelance writers I know do it because they like it, they don't want to work with just one company.
The new CA employment law doesn't help workers, it punishes them.
The only people I see benefiting are the lawyers getting paid to interpret and fight it."
Eddie Arshaid: "@GovPressOffice @CAgovernor @GavinNewsom #AB5 has destroyed my livelihood overnight and the small business I’ve built over 17 years. As an independent appraiser we are being terminated by AMC’s."
Karen E. Spaeder: "For years now, I’ve been writing freelance articles for extra money outside my 9-5. Now I’m told my main client will no longer work w/ CA freelancers b/c of #AB5. Give me back my freedom to choose when & where I do gig work. THIS BILL MUST GO. #AB5stories @Ab5Repeal @KevinKileyCA"
Ari Herstand: "Hey @GavinNewsom @IanCalderon @LorenaSGonzalez , re #AB5 my peers and I in music are losing work every day. We need a carve-out asap. Please add this language to section 2(c)(2)(B): "Musician, or music industry professional except where a collective bargaining agreement applies.”"
Mysty Stewart: "Young Actors Studio provides affordable theatre education to fill in these gaps in Sonoma County. #AB5 puts our ability to provide scholarships to any child in need and our existence in jeopardy - we cannot afford W2 costs. @LorenaSGonzalez - non profits need to be exempted STAT."
Rosanne Limeres: "@Ab5Of I've been a freelance transcriber for 15 years. Not anymore. Lost my jobs. Struggling to figure out what I'm going to do. Thanks #AB5 for destroying my life. Happy New Year!"
Nicolas Zart: "I write to advertise the consulting service I am trying to develop. An article is $35 on average. I am now being noticed after 13 grueling years. I can no longer write for these media. My wife has a good job in Long Beach and I am facing moving out. nicolas@cleantechnica.com."
Jamma Tardif: "I’m a woman, I homeschool. I can’t work for ad agencies or digital marketing agencies now. On the flip side, should I LLC (by the way where’s the $800 waiver?), I can’t work with other freelancers or get a virtual assistant. It’ll be 100 hour work weeks to build again on my own."
Reverend Eddie Stephens: "I use my own tools to work in the entertainment industry and have to drive approx 30,000 miles a year. All of these are write offs that I depend on to stay in business. Take that away and my family is homeless including my 11 month old baby."
Micaela Novas: "Translation business-owner here. I have the option to contract translators elsewhere. But I would rather be able to continue contracting with excellent CA-based translators. AB5 brings a lot of uncertainty. Without an exception, we may be forced to contract outside CA. @co_ptic"
Jacob Lee: "Spent time with a friend today who just lost his biggest client an insurance company. He is a private investigator (supposedly exempt) he has to let his employees go. Insurance company lawyers want all investigators in house no more 3rd parties due to co-employment risk. #AB5."
William Nauenburg: "@Ab5Of I'm 24 years old, and I quit my MA program to pursue a career as a freelance writer. Now, I can't do it. This law has killed my chances before I've even begun. I'm now looking for other states to move to so I can pursue my dream. Thanks CA."
Kristin Lund: "Please repeal AB5! I'm a non-union professional classical singer in Northern CA and have lost my contracts due to this poorly written bill."
Briana Sharp: "I am an independent management consultant who has had my own business for almost 7 years. I have an LLC, business bank account, license, etc. #AB5 has made it next to impossible for me to go to market with other small firms."
Erik Fowler: "We have been getting emergency calls to go to work due to the Kincade fire. Starting today for a week we have 80 trucks out each day, we have 15 of our own and are hiring the rest. Next year or next disaster because of #AB5 this kind of response will not be able to happen."
Lisa Weiss: "AB5 is destroying our small business, after 38 years now what will we do?"
Dr. J Jackson-Beckham: "My sister in-law writes and produces immersive theatre. AB5 has really rattled her community."
Debbie Chinn: "One of our theatres expect to reduce 75% of their programming due to AB5 increased costs #AB5SB."
Andrea St. Clair: "Well, a friend of mine just lost his job as a theatre's Technical Director due to AB5. Thanks, @LorenaSGonzalez @GavinNewsom @KevinMcCartyCA People shouldn't lose their livelihoods over this and many non-profits/small box can't make the W2 transition. #FixAB5."
Lilly Walters: "AB-5 is negatively impacting those rights by restricting the ability of freelance sign language interpreters and realtime captioners to work with the deaf, deaf-blind, deaf-disabled, hard of hearing, and late-deafened communities. #ab5."
R. Scott Moxley: "After having written 6,000+ stories & seeing the closing of OC Weekly, was just told by potential new employer I would be legally limited to just 35 paid articles a year under CA’s new AB5 governing freelance journalism."
Megan Kellie: "I am a nurse practitioner. I have independently contracted for many years filling in holes at small private owned offices. AB 5 has ruined this. It is forcing many small physician offices to close. It is increasing the gap in healthcare. #AB5Works #disruptinequality #AB5. Access to healthcare. Patient care. Many small physician offices closing due to the inability to contract nurse practitioners. It is difficult to find full time help in many rural areas and many of the offices rely on contracted help to stay open. @AsmEGarciaAD56 please vote against AB5. I am a nurse practitioner. This law has negatively affected healthcare professionals. I have my own company and contract with many small private physician offices. Especially in rural health. This law is increasing the gap in healthcare."
Alma Vivian Marquez: "This is just so ridiculous. This law has created incredible turmoil for lots of non-profits with whom I work. I’ve also wondered how the campaigns that elect these folks are going to be run now without ability to hire contractors. #AB5."
Candy Goulette: "Her "service" cost me my livelihood, likely my home and any semblance of retirement. I'm 66; I should be able to determine how and at what I work, without government interference. Save me? Hell, no. #RepealAB5."
Kim Kavin: "This is what laws like CA’s #AB5 really do: “Overnight, Lutz went from earning $80,000 a year as a subcontractor to making $15 an hour.” This is what NJ must avoid. Kill AB5’s ugly cousin #S863. #IRSnotABC #FightForFreelancers."
Wendi Corbin: "My husband is a paramedic that's stationed outside of a rural ER. They fired all of the respiratory therapists and told the medics they have to do the job now..."
Sarah Stallman: "Hi Lorena, musician & NPP voter here. Please understand that the musicians union represents roughly only 5-7% of us. To say they are the reps for our entire industry is simply not true. The rest of us are musicians who have chosen to be independent and are losing work bc of #AB5."
Anonymous: "@LorenaAD80 I'm a Democrat. Your bill AB5 is threatening to put the non profit children's theater I work for out of commission after 88 years of serving title one schools in Oakland. Please clarify your bill and #savethearts in California! Please actually look at AB5. It's hurting actors, interpraters, after-school programs, musicians. Small theaters are closing, music festivals are being canceled. People who have disabilities are losing flexibility... It's hurting the arts, the language is too vague! One if the children's theaters I work for has been serving title one schools for 88 years. They may have to shut down. The point was to make multi million dollar companies take responsibility for the people who make them money, but true Independent Contractors are the ones paying."
Elissa Jill Lieberman, tweeted by Brittany Maldonado: "Elissa Jill Lieberman writes: “It’s the end of an era at the #SanDiego Art Loft.“ Thanks to #AB5, this space—once used by students & for art displays—is now for rent if anyone is interested. Another dream stunted. Another light flickering out. @ToddGloria @toniatkins."
Cecily, tweeted by Kevin Kiley: "#AB5stories, Cecily: "I have my own editing business. I've been turned down by many companies because of where I live. My husband had to downsize his work due to #COVID19. I need to buy food for our 5 teenagers and want to earn enough to survive this crisis. Please suspend #AB5."
Joshua Saladino: "You should look into how this is making it difficult for Nurse Anesthesiologists to practice in California, and the potential impacts on health care if these contracted anesthetists can no longer practice in CA."
Kat Tretina: "Really, I should be thanking @LorenaSGonzalez . Thanks to #AB5, I added several new clients who had to replace their CA writers, boosting my monthly income by over $3K per month. I just filed my 2019 tax return, & I hit $150,000 for the year. But sure, I’m an exploited freelancer."
Margarita Reyes: "The rhetoric "they" use is an attempt to demonize us & validate THEIR cause. Typical of oppressors. We are mothers, fathers, professionals struggling to regain our livelihood. All we ask is to be able to continue our work. #AB5Stories #AB5 #filmmaker."
Kim Mueller: "This makes our minds up. Finishing up my nurse practitioner education this year, taking our 30 year pensions as an RN and police officer out of California. Will practice independently as an FNP in another state. Sad, CA was my forever home."
Esther M. Hermida: "I’m so for #freedomtofreelance. Doing what I love and for whomever I want to do business with is a right #AB5 has taken from me. #FixAB5 so I can quickly recover after #COVID-19. Just let me be the voice for non-English speakers."
Joseph, tweeted by Kevin Kiley: "#AB5stories, Joseph: "I've lost $1,000 worth of work per month because of #AB5, and now that #COVID19 has slowed down other work, I’m in danger of losing my housing and health insurance. I have less money than ever and not one of my clients brought me on as a full-time employee.""
Jacob Lee: "Packing day - moving our family and our company to #Texas due to #AB5 #Calexit #caleg."
Gitta, tweeted by Kevin Kiley: "#AB5stories, Gitta: "I'm an IT consultant for small businesses & just got tested for COVID-19. I have a pending job for a client to enable them to work remotely. I need to work with a subcontractor, but according to #AB5 I have to hire them as an employee to do this 4-hour job.""
Alex Monsalve: "I’m an OT and my mother is a PTA. We have both been put out of work because of AB5. So when any of these yoohoos supporting AB5 give their fake “ support” to healthcare workers during this time, I call BS!!"
Brian Natarte: "Suspending or ending #AB5 will help my 911 center utilize translation services for non English speaking victims and interpretive services for the hearing impaired."
Manny Mota: "I own a small language biz. I'm not rich, just enough to take care of my family. #AB5 has wiped out the profit margins on a lot of the work we used to provide so we've dropped it. Now our clients use remote interpreting w/out of state providers. Lost income for me & interpreters."
Lise Feng: "It was already tough to be a reporter, but with #AB5 cutting #freelancer gigs and now #COVID19 forcing layoffs, pay cuts, and furloughs, the hits keep coming."
Mike Hruby: "Texting w/ a Boston Univ. grad in Biomed Engineering, NanoTech major, minors in Chem & Bio, designed a heart-on-a-chip. He wanted to IC in med-tech design after graduation, & pay $110K school debt. Stopped by MA's anti-IC law, the model for CA's #AB5. #repealAB5 Horrible laws!"
Michele Garcia: "As a person who suffers from autoimmune disease, freelancing and independent contractor work lets me choose how and when I can work. AB5 takes that choice away. #RepealAB5."
"Judah," Twitter handle @dopeconfections: "I startd a biz bcause I wanted a family & to be avail to my kids like my Mom was to me. I never had a fam but it allowed me to support myself, help othrs & support my aging Mom who's in NY. I tell othr women to have a fam & work for themslvs. #AB5 makes it impossible to compete."
Paso Robles Press: "Correct. That is the idiocy of #AB5 for freelance writers too. Our weekly columnists are now prevented from contributing as it makes no sense to employ them for the 2 hours weekly it takes for them to write it up. @LorenaSGonzalez is costing our elderly contributors $40 per week. It was an opportunity for elderly retired people to earn $20 per hour doing something they had engaged in for years, now they have nothing on their own. What about dinner $ or prescription $ or dental $? #AB5 is cruel and unusual when you have the facts."
Joseph Knoop: "A third of my work as a freelance journalist was killed. And I was one of the lucky ones. @GavinNewsom #AB5."
Brian Asher Alhadeff: "Newsom has ZERO concept of the damage AB5 has caused California. I’m a musician and I can say FIRST HAND he’s killed over 1000 musician jobs on the Central Coast."
Kevin Kiley: "#AB5stories, Nikki: "I work with the elderly performing ultrasounds, so my livelihood has been cut drastically by #COVID19. Now my manager is asking if I fall into this #AB5 mess. My pay has dropped at least $3k/month, losing the last little bit of money I get will devastate me.""
Mary Hernandez Castellanos: "Miss Lorena. I am glad that some of my colleagues are being hired. I couldn't be hired for 8 hours during quarantine or off quarantine. My work is in 3hr increments for various of clients. School districts (iep), community (various organizations) through my clients I am able to work and provide my professional services. No entity will hire for a full time job. #AB5 has taken choice away from me and my clients. Please consider the respect in which I have approached you. Look over what we have been asking for. Fixing #AB5 to help not only us but our community! Is fair. No school hires an interpreter full time they use staff! I am called through my clients to provide this very needed communication to the parents. Please consider what we ask #FixAB5."
Chris Colin Lopez: "In two weeks I will run out of money. I can’t get my source of income back because of your legislation, #AB5 @LorenaSGonzalez @LorenaAD80 . Teaching was my passion and in times like now when so many kids are at home, I can’t help out. I am a registered Democrat but your cynicism and ill-written legislation have cemented my long held belief that both parties are corrupt, outdated, and backed by special interests. I refuse to get a job outside because I would be putting my health and my family’s at risk. My ‘gig’ job as you call it with disdain allowed me to sustain myself, to sustain others, to have a medical plan. Now, in two weeks I will lose a lot. You are just as incompetent and obtuse as @realDonaldTrump . I don’t care how you cut it, you’re of the same thread. #RepealAB5. You might not read this but you’ve put a lot of people at risk financially and health wise. You are inept, inferior, lacking, useless, pathetic, you are irresponsible, you twit! #DemocratsVSAB5 #COVID19."
Amanda Deibert: "When my daughter was a newborn the TV show I was working on got cancelled while I was on maternity leave. With no job to go back to I worked (WRITING) from home for the next two years... a LOT of that work I could not do Now to support my family under #AB5."
Christine W.: "Well Lorena, my kids asked why we’re broke, and I said because corrupt politicians made it illegal for me to continue my work from home side gig."
Wendi Koble of Swoon Films: "Weddings postponed/canceled. We still don't have any dates and couples can't plan ANYTHING. Meanwhile, 8 years of hard work building my business wiped away in 2 months. Still no help for small biz. #AB5 has ruined the film industry. #opencalifornianow."
Tony Hope: "This is my mantra. I COULD be earning a living if companies weren’t terrified to hire me. I have a client who owes me 8k but won’t pay for fear of audit EVEN THOUGH IM AN LLC. I don’t like taking PUA, but I have no choice thanks to #AB5."
Jean Bentley: "Thanks to the combo of #AB5 and #COVID19 I have made 1/3 of the income I made at this time last year, and the majority of my clients have dried up. Shoutout 2 the CA legislators who refuse to acknowledge the damage they've done to my once-thriving career! It's not that #AB5 destroyed journalism, it's just that it has stopped in its tracks the careers of anyone who's tried to find a way to work within its crumbling framework. #COVID19 is the wrecking ball that is finishing the job."
Lisa Rothstein: "Simple! Have your Bar/Bat Mitzvah in another state, with an out-of-state rabbi. Have an out-of-state relative "gift" you the rabbi's services. Another blow to CA event planners & venues but do @LorenaAD80 @GavinNewsom care? I can't wait for #SCOTUS to take up #AB5. #RepealAB5.
BC of #AB5, once Bar Mitzvahs, weddings & other large joyous occasions can take place, no one will hold them in California. The revenue once received by CA venues, hotels, restaurants, caterers...all GONE. Event planners will move operations out of state with their tax dollars."
Cathleen, tweeted by Kevin Kiley: "Cathleen: "The ability to work independently provides me as a single mother of multiple children with special needs flexibility to earn livable wages. I CHOOSE to work independently. #AB5 does not protect the working middle class. It severely cripples it!""
Denise, tweeted by Kevin Kiley: "Denise: "I lost my income and am losing my skills as an ASL translator. Without interpreters, the deaf will be misled, leading to wrong decisions and possibly even death. With #AB5 repealed, I'd help them with doctor visits & help children who are now homeschooled.""
Palm Springs Wedding: "When you destroyed the wedding industry due to #AB5 we all thought that was the worst thing you could do, but thank you Lorena for showing us that there were even deeper levels of your hatred toward entrepreneurship. Focus on creating jobs, not forcing them elsewhere."
Marc Topaz: "I'm a freelance graphic artist. I have a business license, work in my own office, have multiple clients, and do large projects so the 35-piece limit per client isn't an issue.
I've specifically lost work because companies don't want to "take a chance" of getting caught in AB5.
Deborah, tweeted by Kevin Kiley: "#AB5stories, Deborah: "I'm a 67-year-old grandmother living on Social Security. I was also an online transcriptionist earning a much needed $200/month. I love the work & it's a perfect fit for working at home. Due to #AB5, CA residents were dropped by the company I worked with."
Richard: "Tell your store to your assembly person what AB 5 took away from you. My wife and me have lost so much income we are leaving SoCal. To get back to work. #RepealAB5."
Shonna, tweeted by Kevin Kiley: "#AB5stories, Shonna: "I had to close my company of 10 years due to the #AB5 law! It has destroyed my finances, and I had to lay off 20 people. It is very difficult to keep up a small business for many people at this point.""
"Punctuatrix": "#AB5 destroyed my 10-year career overnight by arbitrarily targeting freelance editors in a bill meant to protect gig workers. As a progressive democrat I’m horrified. As a small business owner I’m devastated. As a Californian I’m ashamed. @BuffyWicks @NancySkinnerCA #fixAB5."
JoBeth McDaniel, author at ASJA: "I spent a large chunk of 2019 working on a book, then learned from IP attorneys that book publishers are quietly blacklisting CA authors bc of #AB5. The law is so nebulous in its “protections” that authors/other creators could suffer serious financial harm under this illegal law. I also spent a chunk of 2019 in classes/seminars about podcasting/YouTube, had begun talks w/people to hire. I’ve done payroll for my dad’s smallbiz. #AB5 means I’d have to hire W2 employees for a temp 2-3 hour job. 1000s of CA entrepreneurs are making the same decision: NOPE. And for uninformed folks who think I’m simply being “cheap” and “not paying benefits”: good freelancers in audio/video make WAY more than min. wage and don’t want to be W2 for a 2-3 hour job. #AB5 bans all freelance video/audio work - unconstitutional, ridiculous, unAmerican."
"@KFairWrites": "Take away my lollipop? I am a lifelong Dem & 4th-generation Californian whose decades-long career was destroyed by #AB5. How dare you trivialize the impact of poorly written legislation on hardworking Californians. @CA_Dem #RepealAB5."
Luke Thompson: "Yes, but I hope he will reconsider his support for the #PROAct since #AB5 utterly ruined the freelance landscape for writers like me, and did NOT make anybody decide to hire me on as an employee instead like it was supposed to. Joe has my vote but I intend to hold feet 2 fire."
Laurie: "@LorenaAD80 this was my situation. 56 yo with disability. B2B allowed me an improved quality of life, my own schedule. RN MSN healthcare educator. Cant work in academia because I haven’t been at bedside within 5 years due to disease. AB5 killed my situation."
Bill Neufeld: "I started my first business in the 80s, working out of a one-bedroom apartment, used an Apple-2E for invoicing and carried my tools in the trunk of a beat up old Volvo. That business grew to employ about 20 but would be illegal today. #RepealAB5."
Mark J. Smith: "I'm a musician, and before the lockdown I had lost money and jobs due to AB5 (approx $1000 per month in 2020). Now I'm obviously out of work due to the virus. AB5 makes it harder to make a living when it's already a struggle! @LorenaSGonzales."
Aaron Gayden: "Dear @LorenaSGonzalez . @LorenaAD80, my wife & son work for a nonprofit & lost income bc of AB5 reclassification. I've spent 2020 trying to comply w AB5 so I can continue to work as a band leader.
A fellow band leader who you've met w made -$2 on a gig after complying w AB5."
Deborah: "Wow, that's messed up. My life has been directly impacted by AB 5. I didn't lose a lollipop. I lost my current means of economic survival. Thank you for bringing this to my attention @ShannonGroveCA I didn't know that @SenHannahBeth thought so little of us, CA economy's backbone."
Georgina Penate: "You bet I’m voting. I’ll make sure to inform everyone that after having a successful business for 16yrs you sent the order to destroy it. You’ve been destroying our Cali. lifestyle with your draconian orders. #Ab5, #SB276, #Ab262 #shame."
Manny Mota: "So Bird Scooters just laid off 406 employees in a 2-minute Zoom call. Meanwhile, in DelusionLand, @LorenaAD80 wants everyone to believe that W2 status somehow confers stability, good income, job security & benefits. Freelancers HAD all this PRE-#AB5."
Miki Yamashita: "I am a proud member of three unions: @sagaftra @ActorsEquity and @AGMusicalArtist but performing artists need to supplement our union gig income with flexible IC work. #AB5 hurts performers' survival jobs as well as our artistic pursuits. #RepealAB5."
Josephine, tweeted by Kevin Kiley: "#AB5stories, Josephine: "I'm a freelance voice over artist. I was just contacted by a San Diego TV station to host 40 commercial segments. Due to #AB5, they decided it was a legal concern & opted to use talent from Arizona. It would've totaled 30-40K that I'd pay taxes on in CA.""
Bonnie Burton: "As a freelance journalist living in California, my days are numbered thanks to some really unfair and unrealistic employment laws that just passed #AB5 specifically. But between less jobs, content farms & more writers willing to work for free, it's just not a stable career.
Olga Lexell: "Hi, socialist here who is also a freelancer worker. literally no freelancer in california supports AB5. it has completely decimated us. it did nothing to protect "gig workers" and classified ALL freelancers as gig workers."
Braden Drake: "As an attorney trying to help small businesses navigate AB5, I can say it’s been a convoluted mess that’s doing much more harm than good. I’m disappointed in my own party. #AB5stories."
Luis Alvarado: "Agree #AB5 is the perfect example. Was built to help enrich Unions, but it hurt the undocumented communities the most."
Katrina Jayne: "And I urge YOU @JoeBiden to take the time to speak with the event industry so you can learn about the realistic & devastating impact that AB5 is having on our industry. We are struggling and need AB5 repealed! #repealAB5 #AB5stories."
Morgan Overholt: "AB5 and the ProAct will destroy the business Ive worked so hard to build. Please senator, speak to real people who are being impacted by this law. I won’t vote for any candidate in favor of policies that will kill my career."
Juan Carlos Acosta: "@LorenaAD80 I am democrat and former union member, and #AB5 will hurt my ability to hire instrumentalists for gigs. I hire up to 40 musicians 2x a year through the union for sometimes as little as 4 hours of work. Making them employees doesn’t sense. I really wish you would work with musicians and not be dismissive."
Angelle: "Welp. Just lost a freelance job from a longtime client, thanks to #AB5. The law is so vague and poorly written, their policy now is they won't hire ANYONE in California, just to be safe. Guess who's calling her state reps today. Again. @Asm_Nazarian. And the more I think about this, the angrier it makes me. This is editorial work I would have done safely from home, and would have paid state taxes on the income. That's lost revenue for my family AND for California. #ab5 #repealAB5 @Asm_Nazarian. And yes, they literally said that was why they were taking me off the project."
Malcolm, tweeted by Kevin Kiley: "#AB5stories, Malcolm: "I'm an independent cinematographer & video editor. My work has been farmed out to other states to avoid #AB5. Creatives, artists, musicians, writers, techies & more built their livelihoods around their craft. I hope the law is suspended in this dire time.""
Jimmy Strano: "Sir, with all due respect: Cut it out! Most of us drivers want to remain Independent Contractors because of the flexibility and because we make more than minimum wage. #AB5 only guarantees minimum wage. Not good enough."
Black Small Business Association of California (BSBA), reported by The Sacramento Observer:
"The Black Small Business Association of California (BSBA) sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom June 12. In it, the group criticized the state’s proposed allocation of $20 million in the 2020-21 budget to enforce AB 5.
When the controversial labor law took effect in January, AB 5 reclassified millions of workers in California from independent contractors to W-2 employees.
The letter, signed by the organization’s president Salena Pryor, argues that the state’s costly plan to enforce AB 5 would only exacerbate income inequality.
“BSBA believes that at this time, when California is facing a massive $54 billion deficit and the state’s unemployment rate is 24 percent, it would be fiscally imprudent to spend $20 million on enforcement of a policy that has been detrimental to the livelihoods of Black small business owners,” the letter reads.
The fight to amend or, for some, to overturn AB 5 has continued amid the COVID-19 pandemic and, now, the George Floyd protests. In the wake of worldwide efforts to call out systemic racism, Black business organizations are speaking out against the restrictions that AB 5 has placed on African American entrepreneurs in California."
Bruno Bardet: "I have been a Rideshare Driver for 5 years. I do not want to be an employee. Where is our FREEDOM? Who do you think you are to take this FREEDOM away from us? Most drivers do not want a boss. You are killing the FREEDOM of Enterprise."
The California Physical Therapy Association: "Physical therapists who work independently, negotiate their own rates and hours, and use their own equipment are now being exploited as employees with no benefits and less flexibility. Makes NO sense in home health. #AB5Fix4PT @LorenaAD80 @DrPanMD @SenHannahBeth @HollyJMitchell."
Danielle, tweeted by Kevin Kiley: "#AB5stories, Danielle: "I just lost my main source of income because they didn’t want to make me an employee to follow #AB5. My other side jobs I use to sustain myself are freelance gigs that are on my own accord and I enjoy. This law will cause me to lose my home.""
Andi HK: "One of my BFF soul sisters is boarding a plane to TX this morning. They are the latest CA family to leave the tarnished Golden State. House listed and everything. My heart is sunk. Other states are thriving and the mass exodus will continue. #RecallGavinNewsom."
Maggie "Macro": "I remember contracts! For years I’ve worked as an independent contractor and it was great. I could stay home with my kids and earn over $70 per hour. Now @veenadubal abd @LorenaAD80 took that away from me. It’s been a terrible year. Good thing I’m rich anyway."
Jim Thompson "@JimmySportToons": "Re: why I am not cartooning for LA Times #AB5 - a monumentally stupid and poorly drafted law put me on the sideline. My editors at @latimessports supported me, but their hands were tied.
To those who looked forward to my cartoons each Saturday, Thank You."
Alisha, tweeted by "Yes On Proposition 22": "“You’re telling me not to feed my baby at this point!”
Single mom Alisha relies on the flexibility of @Lyft to take care of her daughter. She’s one of the hundreds of thousands of drivers who will suffer if @Uber and Lyft are forced to shut down by politicians. #SaveCARideshare."
Garett Martocello: "I have lost a lot of business to AB5. I will always be against it. @LorenaSGonzalez should have known better that a broad sweeping law would affect more then just drivers and should have written it as so. Now there are thousands of us tangled up in this mess. #RepealAB5."
Michel Fadlallah: "Just cost me my job as an Uber driver. I am 66 on SS. Now I have to move to another state to make ends meet. Been here since 1975. Thanks Lorena."
David Barton: "AB5 crushed my wife’s fitness studio (small business that gave 15 well paid ICs a place to work when they wanted) and that was before coronavirus. Lorena talks in platitudes and panders to big union donors while crushing independent biz."
California Black Chamber of Commerce:
"Black lives, Black families and Black businesses have been devastated by the triple catastrophes of AB5, COVID-19, and the violent racism that permeates the very institutions we rely on to protect our freedom as Americans.
How dare you use the shooting of civilians by police as a political weapon to defend your misguided and disastrous law that has robbed thousands of Californians of their right to earn a living with dignity, respect, and independence.
The Black men and women who have chosen to work for themselves are not asking for your “protection” from self-employment. We are not asking for your permission to earn a living as we choose, by starting a business for ourselves or control our own future as an independent contractor.
We’re tired of paternalistic institutions that purport to “protect” us while enabling, defending, and propagating the systemic racism that has cost so many Black lives.
AB5 has already crushed thousands of Black businesses and will keep more from operating in the Gig Economy. Nearly a million Californians would lose jobs, opportunities, and independence if the future of AB5 were up to you.
If COVID-19 taught us anything, it’s that people who lost jobs during this economic downturn realized they could work from home as independent contractors, make more money and spend more time with their loved ones.
We’re not asking for your help or misguided protection. Just open the door and let us help ourselves.
Sincerely,
Edwin Lombard
President and Chief Executive Officer
California Black Chamber of Commerce"
John Meyers: "Just picked up my friend from car repair, was worried Uber/Lyft #AB5 shutdown would strand her. $$ not to a driver.
My blind friend is freaked. Rideshare changed her family's life, giving her way to take kids to school, shop, get to job at Society for Blind. #NewsomFail."
Tom H.: "It’s truly irritating how this is just framed around Uber and Lyft.
#AB5 affects just as much Journalists, Musicians, Truckers, construction workers and any number of other freelance jobs.
I’ve had numbers of friends move out of CA just to run their jobs in CA from OR or NV."
Marsha, tweeted by Kevin Kiley: "#AB5stories, Marsha: "I lost my job of 12 years as a medical transcriptionist because of #AB5. Many in this profession value the flexibility in hours and working from home more than employee status. Now I have no money at all.""
Sarah, tweeted by Kevin Kiley: "#AB5stories, Sarah: "#AB5 has completely decimated my livelihood as a highly experienced interpreter for the deaf. The right to work as an individual wishes is a basic, foundational freedom which this law has stripped from us, making it impossible to provide for our families.""
Marina, tweeted by Kevin Kiley: "#AB5stories, Marina: "I'm a certified court interpreter. I've been very happily freelancing for 15 years. I can choose which agencies to work with, and work as much or as little as I want to spend time with my 3-year-old. #AB5 is destroying my wonderful work/life combo.""
Kelly, tweeted by Kevin Kiley: "#AB5stories, Kelly: "I'm an independent contractor in the events industry. We're all self-employed. Sometimes I'm the contractor, sometimes I'm the one contracted. It's a beautiful way to do business. #AB5 denies that freedom. And with COVID-19, it's a scary time for all of us.""
Danielle, tweeted by Kevin Kiley: "#AB5stories, Danielle: "I just lost my main source of income because they didn’t want to make me an employee to follow #AB5. My other side jobs I use to sustain myself are freelance gigs that are on my own accord and I enjoy. This law will cause me to lose my home.""
Sequoia, tweeted by Kevin Kiley: "#AB5stories, Sequoia: "I've been a freelance artist for 20 years, and we are a huge part of what makes LA special. But it’s hard to be a freelancer, and #AB5 makes things 100 times more difficult. The law makes it too expensive for local companies to hire local professionals.""
Calista, tweeted by Kevin Kiley: "#AB5stories, Calista: "I am a terminal manager for a transportation company that leases owner-operators to transport mobile offices and manufactured homes. Due to #AB5, the company I work for is closing my terminal and cancelling the California-based owner operator leases.""
Kellie Gee: "I was a 1099 Executive Healthcare Recruiter that all came to an end January 1 2020. I was earning a 6 figure income working for myself on my terms. I recruited MD's and Healthcare Executive's for hospitals, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities throughout the country. I'm devastated and feel fortunate to have found this group."
Bronwyn DeHavilland: "I'm a home health therapist, or I should say was a home health provider until this law came along and decimated my career of 10 years. I am furious."
Shonney Tropper: "I lost contracts with 12 home health facilities due to AB5 losing 90% of by business of 15 years. I had a registry where I hired occupational therapists, physical therapists and speech therapists to see home health clients. None of them wanted to be W2 employees so I was forced to close my business."
Sylvia Amorino Gonzalez: "I run a small nonprofit opera company and am scrambling to comply with this terribly written law after only hearing about it 2 weeks ago...I am receiving emails daily, it seems, of companies in the SF Bay Area going dark until they figure AB5 out, or cancelling their season because they don't have the money to comply or can't set it up in time, or closing altogether. I am sad and sick as I watch the arts crumble around me.. Some of these companies have been in business for as long as 50 years!!!! All give jobs to many musicians, singers, actors, dancers, designers, staff, etc. I am in shock. I have been in the business for over 40 years and have not seen anything as tragic as this EVER!"
Simon Eves: "Board member and tech person for small non-profit amateur community theater. No employees. All volunteer-run by retired and/or hobbyists. We hire individuals as director, music director, stage manager, lighting designer, sound designer, sound engineer, set designer, costume designer, actor, musician etc. as single stipend or payment-per-appearance with 1099 (mostly in the three-figure range). Almost all (except pit musicians) are therefore grossly underpaid in hourly terms (the creative staff will put hundreds of hours into the full process of a show), but nobody minds because we're in it for the art. Few of us rely on those stipends as primary income, but some do, and the rest of us still appreciate being rewarded. NONE of these disciplines are currently exempt under AB5, so it's now illegal for us to pay anybody this way. The only options (as I understand it) are to have them volunteer and be paid only expenses (impossible to justify paying the same amounts), to make them employees and pay them minimum wage for every hour (more complicated and totally unaffordable for the company as we just don't have enough income from tickets etc.), or to oblige them to incorporate in some form and then pay them as B2B (impractical for most). There is no practical way to sustain such a company under the new law."
Rosie: "Are you kidding? You stole my ability to earn a living with #AB5!"
Fred Topel: "Interestingly, had I been an employee I would not have been able to work with you as part of @CAFWU all year. Employers can & do restrict employees’ public comments. It’s only as freelancers we are free to speak out. Ironically as employees the driver advocates would be muzzled."
Mia Nill: "Many of us have had no employment at all since #ab5 steamrolled through. Contractors turned to workers out of State do the that confusing & over reaching law. You 'protected' us out of our careers."
Bella: "I am a gig worker and I tell everyone I can to vote #YesOnProp22. Even if it fails and I have to leave California, I’m not forgetting you, Lorena. You’ve made enemies out of a lot of people. Looking forward to donating to and campaigning for your political opponents."
Will Rontani: "I am serious we have an Artist Apocolypse. All the craft and cultural fairs are closed. Themed Entertainment closed. Street performers have to work busk now... I mean I can't contract with a business, so now I have to work for donations? WTF, @LorenaSGonzalez ? Seriously... I lost business before covid. AB5 took my contract then Coronavirus took my venues."
Vanessa McGrady: "That's not accurate either. They are libertarian. Please also stop saying that anyone who opposes #AB5 is GOP, anti-union and/or a bot. We are not. We are people who have businesses and want to keep them. Is it really that hard to understand and admit the devastation you caused?"
Remi: "Too little, too late. That 11-year gig that shriveled up this year because of AB5 is no longer there. And there is a pandemic. You pulled the rug out from under me, destroyed my earning ability at age 64."
American Drivers Club: "Drivers do not want to be employees! You are reducing the amount of money we can earn #repealab5 Preventing delivery without an agreement with the restaurant stops #IndependantContractors from being independant. We should be able to provide delivery outside of the app! #NoAB2149"
Mary Harrison: "First it was drivers, then car washers-now newspaper carriers? Are you serious? Do you not understand that AB5 negatively affects over 300 occupations. The majority of us making well over minimum wage, with successful careers, working as we choose and are not misclassified! It’s great that you supposedly want to help those who need it, but guess what? The vast majority of IC’s in CA don’t need your “help”! #RepealAB5 and write an new law that leaves us alone! I’m an adult who chose to work the way I do.I don’t need your protection. #mylabormychoice."
Reisne Stubblefiel: "Hey, guess what, not everyone wants to be an employee. Many of us wish to be self-employed. The B prong of the ABC test makes selling services to business more difficult than is reasonable. Stop hurting the self-employed in these trying times."
Lisa Rothstein: "So I should just trust my wonderful employer to let me show up to work whenever I feel like it, split for art class, when I want to spend time w/family or just chill at the beach while still offering benefits? Where is this company? I'd love to work there! #RepealAB5 #YESonProp22."
Anonymous: "Lorena please listen! My previous GIG provider followed the laws. First, she lowered my pay then, to be “employed” I needed to sign a contract that stated she owns my curriculum content, that I couldn’t work for her “competition “. I was a B2B so I was her competition now AND when I went through the new employee handbook and asked questions , she was so offended she decided not to “utilize my services”. I am disabled, 57 and have a Masters in Nursing Ed. I cannot do the work colleges and others expect. This one view of AB5 has killed my future."
Armineh Johannes: "Please exempt freelance/independent translators form this unfair law which is taking away our livelihood just because we live in California.Translation agencies telling me that they can no longer work with me because I am in California (unless I incorporate-so costly & burdensome)."
Sean Kurtela: "I’m a responsible company and I treat my contractors very well. Your bill hurts us all. Stop tweeting about it. #RepealAB5."
Sonia Adame: "You completely discount the MILLIONS of people affected by this mess. I’m not a bot, I’m a person who could lose their livelyhood. This bill was a complete miscalculation hurting small business and independent contractors. IBelieve this bill is uniting both sides of the aisle."
Sarah Stallman: "I am a freelancer (musician, to be exact) by choice. I'm not a misclassified worker. I also vote Democrat. Not everyone who is against AB5 is right wing. In fact when it comes to musicians, nearly everyone I know is staunchly Democrat AND against AB5. Please remember that."
Joseph Knoop: "I'd actually have a couple grand more in my bank account if I could have been writing news posts for one of my clients. Instead I'm trying to figure out if I have enough to make ends meet this month, Assemblywoman. #AB5."
Alana Maiello: "I've had to delay an invoice for 4 weeks because a client outside of CA was nervous about AB5 and didn't want to issue payment until I had an LLC. I am getting my LLC set up. I have a great client and know that she will come through. However, I know of colleagues who were just dropped by clients outside of CA becuase they were nervous about AB5. @LorenaAD80 and @GavinNewsom and @Asm_Nazarian , small businesses and freelancers are losing income due to #ab5. Why don't you care if we are protected? Can't we protect everyone? #ab5stories."
Stealth The Producer: "I cant speak for anyone else, but i'm actually suffering more not being able to work remotely from home like I had been doing for close to 4 years before #ab5. I would actually have more money and wouldnt need any financial assistance, or unemployment insurance."
Rob Gordon: "I have voted Democratic for my entire life, but I really want to express a huge amount of gratitude to . @KevinKileyCA for trying to help us. He as been a real class act and has acted in a true bipartisan manner in showing he cares about independent workers in California."
Lauren: "I’d personally be surviving all this with a lot less stress if I could write the way I did before. My background before I became a freelancer is in hospitality, I can’t go back to a service job in this crisis. It’s crazy. sorry @LorenaAD80 #ab5 is hurting my family."
Matthew Gilbert: "I'm an IC with my job at stake. My ability to work from home is far superior to any employee. He's got the right move. #repealab5."
Mike Cottone: "Lorena, I am a self employed trumpeter. AB5 is wiping out side jobs left and right. My income is generated by pooling multiple 1099 gigs/shows/events into one savings account. NOT W2! W2 gigs are few and far between. On top of COVD, enforcing AB5 will crush the arts community."
Kelly: "I wouldn't need to seek unemployment because many deaf/hard of hearing people need my services! #AB5 is what's in the way of my income and the #deaf #hoh receiving remote captions during their #distancelearning which is their right through #ADA! #americanswithdisabilitiesact."
Vanessa Garcia: "A lot of us who want #AB5 gone are actually not right wing folks. We’re just people who don’t want to work for an employer and want to do our own thing. Why is that so offensive to you?"
Cori: "AB5 is detrimental to my small blog. Hiring contractors to do small things for me here and there is how I make it work. I cannot ask all of those contractors to become employees. It is unsustainable. I will have to look out of state for help."
Elyse: "As a person with a disability, freelance writing is the only way I have been able to make a living and have a viable career. AB5 will not only rob people like me of having dignity and a source of income."
Lucy: "As an Independent contractor Interpreter I work for multiple agencies and have the freedom to work when I want and as much as I want. I love what I do and AB5 will drastically limit the work I can perform. I can get a job with benefits and payroll deductions, but I prefer to work as an independent contractor because it's more lucrative and flexible."
Baofeng: "I am a freelance translator. Two major clients just locked me out of vendor portals, just because I live in California. Over 90% of my income is from these two companies."
Amber: "I love being my own boss, contributing to multiple publications, controlling my own schedule, being flexible enough to take time off whenever my young son needs me. If one of my clients offered me a full-time W-2 job, I'd probably say no. Luckily, I haven't yet been directly impacted by AB5. But I do have a solid client that's started offering me smaller pieces of work, so I worry about hitting that 35-submission limit. It'd be a shame if I had to turn down work, from a client that pays and treats me well, due to an arbitrary limit."
Eddie: "I use my own tools to work in the entertainment industry and have to drive approx 30,000 miles a year. All of these are write offs that I depend on to stay in business. Take that away and my family is homeless including my 11 month old baby."
Stephany: "I quit my tech job 4.5 years ago to shear sheep and write. In mid 2017, I moved my grandmother to California. She is completely cognitively and physically impaired. I love my life, independence, business, and family. The state should not be able to take those away."
Donna: "I am a bandleader and work with 20 different musicians through the course of the year. Some I will use once some 15-20 times. The costs of making them employees, work comp, payroll costs etc. will put me out of business."
Susan: "I am a tax preparer. I prepare corporate and partnership returns for mostly entertainment clients. If they are forced to become employees of the studios, I lose my business. I’ve had some of my clients for 30 years."
Micaela: "Translation business-owner here. I have the option to contract translators elsewhere. But I would rather be able to continue contracting with excellent CA-based translators. AB5 brings a lot of uncertainty. Without an exception, we may be forced to contract outside CA."
Mayan: "Please understand that my mother, a translator and interpreter for over 30 years, will no longer be allowed to speak for immigrants in the court system because of AB 5."
Alexis: "Please fix AB 5 so that I may continue to put food on my table as I struggle to rebuild my home in Paradise. Still displaced after the Camp Fire."
Andi: "Just lost my ability to earn a living because of California Assembly Bill 5. My freelance brokerage company says they have to let California authors go. Almost a decade of hard work gone in an instant. I can't stop crying. Right before Christmas."
Rebecca: "Today, along with literally HUNDREDS of my colleagues, I was told that I can no longer hold a paid position at SB Nation. California, you’re breaking my heart (and taking my money)."
Krista Genzlinger: "I am an independent contractor, i.e. business owner; I am self-employed. I would not be able to work in any capacity, other than self-employed. This method of earning income for myself is built on my ability to control the hours in my day, when I do my work, and how I do my work. The amount that I earn, which is a great deal more than minimum wage, is dependent on the rates that I am able to set for myself for the services that I provide. As an independent contractor I am more productive, I have honed my skills more in the last five years than in the entirety of the previous 22 years while working as a full-time employee."
Jessica Fantz: "As a former independent contractor (a web designer) - I am one of a number of professionals who have valued the benefits of being classified as an independent contractor - flexibility in hours and schedule, ability to take or decline assignments without fear of being terminated, ability to have multiple clients at a time - or not - to ensure income stability, a separation from traditional employer-employee status which enables more independence and enables a stronger bargaining position. I recently took a full time position, in part out of fear of these impending laws which rely on a strict ABC test impacting my ability to earn a living as they have done in California. I have seen many proposals for alternatives to forcing those who wish to remain independent into a traditional definition of employee, and these are worth considering. The government MUST recognize that for many people, that relationship is actually NOT beneficial. The structure of the work force has been changing, and tax and employment laws must adapt as well."
Jackie Hyman: "I am an author, news reporter and editor, and writing teacher who has been working as an independent contractor in California for more than thirty years. Please do not make the same mistakes as my state's horrendous AB5. I am 71 years old and cannot (and will not) take regular employment. Earning an income from my home is safer, more effective and more satisfying for me. Please respect my wishes and those of my fellow creatives to forge our own path and create our own contractual relationships. Thank you."
Amy LaMarra: "My name is Amy LaMarra and I am a small business owner residing and conducting business in Los Angeles, CA. I would like to express my support for clarification of and preservation of freelance workers in my state, as our new AB5 law in CA has created confusion, would force at least some of my contractors to become my employees...
Since learning of the AB-5 law, I have been reading and re-reading the bill, attempting to understand exactly what I will need to do to comply. Unfortunately, it doesnt look like my current set-up will be acceptable and all my workers will likely be affected. If I can't continue to contract with them, I will likely have to find a small manufacturer to do the work, possibly not even within the US. I would much rather continue to use local help and I appreciate very much that labor department seems to understand the nuances involved in contract work."
George Mahn: "As a composer and producer in music and film production, working independently empowers me to choose projects that align with both my personal disposition and itinerary. I traded corporate management years ago for professional autonomy, partly to pursue creative interests and partly to establish my own business culture. Regulations and legislation ought to be enacted and interpreted in ways that preserve and advance options for independent contractors."
Debbie Kaplan: "I am a small business owner who provides writing services to publications and companies. As a work-at-home mom, I ramped up my business to coincide with the time I had available while raising my kids. I worked during their nap times, and then added more hours as they went to school. Even before the pandemic, I was there when they came home from school, to help with homework, drive them to activities, and hear about their days. As we’re seeing in the pandemic, that flexibility is everything. I value my independent contractor status as it gives me the freedom to work when I want, for whom I want, and on my own terms."
Paul Anderson: "It's my desire to be able to continue as a independent contractor for Uber."
Hawa Wleh: "I’m a single mom, I love working for Uber because you make your own schedule. Just thank God for Uber, because of Uber I get to spend time with my daughter and my Family."
Jose Garcia: "The reason why I drive for Uber is the flexibility of schedule that I have with them."
Lorri: "Independent court and deposition reporters! We freelance for several firms, set our own schedule, don't need benefits. Want to stay independent!"
Claire: "I am a translator and work as an independent contractor for many years, for only one company. I was told by email 20 days ago that I won’t be able to work for them anymore, starting in January. It’s my only income and I love what I do."
Nancy: "I’m a pharmacist who’s lost my position as an IC who performs inspections of pharmacies across the country for compliance to standards of safe practices in nonsterile and sterile compounding."
Kathleen: "My work as an independent is threatened, I am retired but like to supplement my income by picking up a few jobs during the year."
Elizabeth: "As a mobile Notary Signing Agent, I am in limbo with this disastrous law."
Travis: "I am an independent contractor working in the film and television industry who's had plenty of sleepless nights worrying about the future of my business. If AB 5 is not overturned, I don't believe small service businesses such as mine have a future in this state."
Jennifer: "I am a freelance Spanish interpreter and have been certified since 2012. AB 5 will dismantle our industry's decades-old, proven independent contractor model and force us to adopt an unsustainable alternative which will drive many language professionals to leave our thriving careers and deprive limited English proficient individuals of their right to receive services in their primary language."
Marsha: "I lost my job of 12 years as a medical transcriptionist because of AB5. Many in this profession value the flexibility in hours and working from home more than employee status. Now I have no money at all."
Kirk: "After 27 years in construction trucking, own a home, raised 2 boys, own $250,000 worth of CARB LEGAL equipment. AB 5 will put me out of business!"
Laura: "This hurts the Deaf community because of the complications in hiring and retaining qualified sign language interpreters."
Connie: "Please understand that my mother, a translator and interpreter for over 30 years, will no longer be allowed to speak for immigrants in the court system because of AB 5."
Austin: "I am a full-time employee at a corporation in California, but I work as a freelance writer on the side for supplemental income. I enjoy my job as a writer, and I am very grateful of the publication I produce content for, as they have allowed me to maintain a flexible schedule and have afforded me the opportunity to be paid to do something I love. After learning about how AB 5 will not only affect my livelihood, but that of hundreds of thousands of other Californians, it makes me sick to my stomach."
Susan: "I have been an independent contractor working as a court reporter for over 30 years. The opportunity to be an employee has always been available to me, but I chose freelancing because it afforded me the opportunity to put my family first, before my job."
Julie: "I am an American Sign Language interpreter for the Deaf a majority of the work we do is as independent contractors since many locations only need our services occasionally. There is already a scarcity of qualified interpreters. This bill makes getting assignments covered even more difficult which means more Deaf people will be left without communication access."
Whitson: "I cannot begin to explain the stress this has put on me and my family. I know there are no guarantees in this business. I could lose clients to layoffs, or to a recession. But I never thought the government would just take work away from me arbitrarily."
Mallory: "I have been a professional journalist since 2005. I have worked full-time and freelanced for a significant amount of years in my career. Most recently, I was laid off from a full-time editor position Bustle in November and due to AB-5, many of the publications that were initially interested in me freelancing for them stopped being interested."
Anthony: "I currently serve the courts as a certified Interpreter (Independent Contractor). Interpreters were among the list of "losers" who did not get an exemption from AB5 and as a consequence, we are all in a state of chaos, knowing that the law makes it impossible for us to resume doing our work."
Katherine: "I am an online English teacher hired as an independent contractor...In no way shape or form does it benefit me, in actuality it is detrimental to my financial well being."
John: "I have been a freelancer for 35 years and am in several areas of work, some of which are adversely affected by AB5. I've had as many as 15 1099s in some years - it'll be impossible to have that many W-2s and I'll not be able to deduct business expenses"
Jan: "I'm an older woman with two teaching credentials living in a small county who cannot find employment outside of independent contractor online teaching jobs. One company has already announced they will no longer contract with California teachers. I care for a disabled husband. I will lose my home if I cannot work for these companies."
Maria: "I won't be able to work as an American Sign Language interpreter. I work freelance and I have now been removed from all agencies I worked for in my capacity as interpreter."
Stephanie: "AB 5 is detrimental to the well being of my Deaf clients as well as my right to earn a living the way I want to. I'm losing so much work because agencies can't afford to keep all of their sign language interpreters on as employees."
Kelly: "I'm a freelance writer supporting myself and a family in Los Angeles, and AB5 directly impacts how I can do that, as well as thousands of my colleagues."
Michael: "With this law, I'd never have been able to make the short films I have in the past. For aspiring filmmakers trying to break in, this is death."
Claudia: "I'm a freelance language professional (translator) and my corporate clients are dropping my translation services starting this month."
Jay: "I have been a PR/Marketing Communications freelancer since 1992 and this legislation greatly impacts my ability to work."
Hope: "This bill will devastate the services the Deaf community receive. Almost all the American Sign Language Interpreters that work in the community are Independent Contractors. We get the bulk of our work through agencies that work like clearing houses that send out the work. We set our pay and take the work if we want or don't want."
Ernie: "I'm retired and at age 75 the freelance writing I do for several publications is an important supplemental income source for me and my family. I'm good at what I do and produce abut 200 articles a year. Yesterday I was notified that my work is being cut in half and I am losing one column entirely because I submit more than the arbitrary 35 to that publication."
Connie: "The AB 5 law has now taken away my limited options for employment . I am not medically cleared to return to the workforce, I have problems standing and walking which severely impact my ability to find employment. My company as well as many other online teaching companies are now choosing to not work with California teachers. I have a bachelors degree as well as a teaching credential I am not a victim, I choose to work as an independent contractor because it is what suits my life best at this moment. AB 5 is taking away my choices and my livelihood away. I tried to apply to other companies and was told that they can no longer work with Californians, as of January 1, 2020 I will be unemployed and stand a chance of losing everything I have and becoming homeless because of this new law."
Jessica: "I am an independent contractor for a company based in China. They recently announced they are no longer partnering with new California independent contractors. The current CA contractors are feeling like our jobs are in jeopardy."
Andrea: "I'm a freelance writer who writes dozens of pieces for various clients each month. I did my writing through a content mill, which has now blocked California writers from communicating with any new clients and is limiting us to 34 articles per year for the clients we already had. For perspective, I often wrote more than 34 articles per MONTH for ONE of my clients alone. I'm now losing these clients, many of whom I've worked with for years. I was incredibly happy with my work life prior to AB 5. I made enough money to satisfy my needs, and I was able to work when I wanted and take time off when I wanted, something I needed due to my chronic health problems."
Willow: "I am a freelance writer and filmmaker, and AB5 directly impacts my ability to work, and my ability to hire film crew members!"
Linda: "I have successfully been freelancing for over 20 years. My job has allowed me to care for my mother and raise my son. This legislation now has the potential to destroy my writing business and the businesses of many of my colleagues."
Nicole: "I am a professional in the photography and video industry. This bill is already costing me work as advertising agencies and clients are choosing to shoot out of state and hire non-Californians. I hold a degree in film production and have spent my entire career building a list of clients so that I can remain flexible to take care of my family and spend time with my husband who is a first responder."
Amy: "I'm a freelance writer who's worked for a decade at my craft. AB 5 has essentially left me without any work."
Richard: "Musician. Multiple venues stating they're worried about hiring live entertainment until the details regarding AB5 are 'sorted out'."
Hsiao-Yu: "Software engineer contractor was my previous job and I loved it. Now AB 5 took it away."
Catherine: "It takes away job flexibility for my sons to work while they are in college."
Katherine: "I am independent contractor for multiple companies and have been for over 6 years. This allowed me to be at home to care for my elderly parents. Because companies would rather err on the side of caution and not deal with the headache I'm backed into a corner and going to have to take a job outside of the home again and just hope nothing happens to them while I'm 40+ hours a week!"
Wendy: "As a freelance journalist, this bill is devastating to me and my ability to earn enough money to support myself."
Jennifer: "I own and run a very small business as a postpartum doula and Lactation educator and I enjoy being independent and autonomous. AB 5 limits me if I need/want to hire people as my business grows."
Ryan: "I am the owner of a pediatric therapy company. We provide work to approximately 40 ICs who want to see a few clients in addition to their full time jobs. This law would force me to let go of all 40 ICs as I cannot afford to pay them."
Karen: "I am currently working as a freelance food delivery driver and if this bad law is not appealed, then I would lose my livelihood and trying to find a good paying job at the age of 54 is nearly impossible due to age discrimination."
Carla: "As a stay at home mother of three I rely on being an independent contractor and working from home. AB 5 hurts my family, it takes food off our tables and necessities for my children."
Janet: "There is no way my clients are going to hire me as an employee to work on sporadic projects during the year, so I will lose the ability to augment my social security and I'm not eligible for SNAP benefits. I'm 67 years old, on Social Security and if I can't find a full time job at this point, I can't pay the rent and eat!"
Walter: "I am an actor, singer, and storyteller, active throughout San Diego County. AB 5 is impacting my ability to work."
Rachel: "I am a freelance musician and teacher living in Los Angeles. Much of my performance income is non-Union and I am hired to perform for each organization maybe once or twice a year. I am very concerned that my performance income will dry up, given the vast majority of arts organizations will not be able to comply with AB5 and make musicians employees, nor does that make any sense given the business model."
Rebekah: "I am a Pediatric Occupational Therapist with 23 years of experience in my field. Since starting a family, I have enjoyed the flexibility of working as a private contractor. Because of AB 5, this is no longer possible."
Christine: "I've already lost two writing jobs and I'm on the verge of losing a third. I will have no income source. I've lived in California my entire life, but am considering moving to Nevada."
Gail: "I am a sign language interpreter and have worked self employed for almost 20 years. This impacts my livelihood by not letting agencies give me work."
Nicolas: "I am a freelance musician. Some of the theater companies I work for are either cancelling shows or having to make some adjustments that are not sustainable in the long run."
Scott: "AB 5, within a week of it's implementation, has already destroyed countless jobs in CA. As a music professional it has the potential to put me out of business and decimate my industry."
Marina: "I'm a certified court interpreter. I have been freelancing for 15 years and very happy doing that. What I like about freelancing is that I only work for the good agencies (that pay well), I can work as much or as little as I want to spend time with my 3 year old. This law is destroying my wonderful work/life combo."
Robin: "My husband and I are both freelance professionals. Both of us have taken a huge financial hit. We have 3 children to provide for."
George: "I'm a self-employed freelance composer working from home, making just barely enough to survive. On occasion I will hire musicians to come in and do recording, doesn't make sense to have them be an employee if I only hire them for a few hours at a time."
Marisa: "I just moved to California from the east coast. I work in film/media production, and Los Angeles is a "gig based" economy particularly in the film industry! I can't find regular work now as I was already making near minimum wage as a Production Assistant (though I'm not struggling to pay rent by any means, as with typical overtime the pay levels out well). Positioning myself as an S-corp or LLC to jump through hoops for this law will cost more than it would benefit me. I'm now forced to look for full-time jobs (which are scarce!) just to avoid dealing with AB 5."
Julia: "I am a freelance writer based in L.A. A couple years ago, I started freelancing - a change that allowed me to work from my own home, on my own hours, and own schedule. I now write for multiple publications and companies and, for the first time, feel in control of my mental health and livelihood. AB 5 threatens this and the thought of giving up my business devastates me. My work means everything to me. It is not a question - if AB5 were to take my work away, I'd have to move. It simply would not be an option to stay here."
Nikki: "I'm a freelance musician and a realtor. I'm 90% self employed. ALL of my freelance work is independently contracted and I have over 30+ clients and vendors (annually) who I provide services for. THIS LAW DOES NOT HELP ME. In turn, it actually makes it very difficult for me to do any sort of work for these 30+ clients without them having to provide benefits for me."
Deborah: "I'm a 67-year-old grandmother living on Social Security. Up until Jan 1st I was also an online transcriptionist earning approx $200 a month in much needed additional income. I love the work and it is a perfect fit for work-from-home situations, however due to AB 5, California residents were dropped by the world-wide company I was working for."
Ryland: With the implementation of AB5, I, as a musician, producer, and contractor, will not be hiring anyone this year so long as AB5 is in effect. I cannot afford the added expenses. Additionally, several companies I work for l are struggling to determine how to remain afloat as they are service based and do not bring in hefty profits beyond what the team members are paid."
Jessica: "As a freelance court reporter, I choose when to work, what jobs to take, and how to transcribe testimony. I do not want to be an employee. As a new mom I can tell agencies that I only want afternoon work or only morning work, or that I only want to work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. As an employee, I would not get to pick a schedule that works for me."
Nelly: "As a Single mom of 3, I depend on all my freelance work that I get medical interpreting to help meet ends. I make just enough to cover all my bills."
Paul: "I've been a freelance writer and editor for 25 years. Working freelance has allowed me to raise my daughter from the day she came home from the hospital to the present (she's 10), pick and choose both the work I do and the hours and days I do it, and work with incredible employers who have (with very few exceptions) ALWAYS had my best interests at heart. AB5 will force me to leave jobs that I've held for over a decade and join a growing pool of other freelancers who are grabbing at the few freelance jobs that will be left for us."
Marlene: "AB 5 has impacted my life. I am self employed by choice. I do not want to be an employee nor do I want to lose my tax exemptions as a company. I should not be forced into employment relationships with my clients, most of which will not hire me anymore if they are forced to become my employers. This law will destroy my business."
Tracy: "I am an ASL interpreter and work for several agencies. By being able to work for different agencies I can meet the needs of the Deaf community . With this bill I would no longer be able to work as I do and the Deaf community would suffer."
Susan: "As a freelance court reporter, AB 5 has upended my career. I have been working as an independent contractor since January of 1992. I WANT to be an independent contractor. In any given year, I can work with 10, 15, 20, even 30 different agencies to help cover calendar. Some I may only work for once. Some a handful of times. I do not want to be an employee of any of the agencies. I want to set my own hours, what depositions I choose to report, where I choose to work."
Vivien: "I am a freelance press photographer. The 35 submission cap silences me."
Lorraine: "I may be losing my job as an independent contractor doing transcribing for almost 30 years. AB5 is life-destroying."
Elizabeth: "I am a Certified Shorthand Reporter in the State I'd California who will be adversely affected by AB5. As a licensed professional, I do not want or need to be classified as an employee since I work for many agencies reporting depositions and court hearings and can set my own rates and job schedule."
Kristen: "I am a freelance sign language interpreter. AB5 only hurts my profession by not allowing us the flexibility we need to be able to create and manage our own schedules to accept the jobs we need and are qualified for. We do not wish to work as employees nor will that structure fit how our career operates. It will likely drive up service costs while we are paid less which will hurts thousands of Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals who will not be able to get adequate services or any services at all. We could be pushed out of state to even find adequate work which will worsen the issue that we don't have enough qualified interpreters to fill all areas of need."
Lisa: "I am a Certified Shorthand Reporter. For my whole career, 24 years, I've been an independent contractor. I love being independent. I accept/decline work as it fits into my life and my family's life."
Sylvia: "I am an independent musician, and I run the Non-profit community orchestra, Southland Symphony. We are attempting to shift to a model to comply, but there is a very real chance that we will not be able to sustain our operation with these new costs and requirements. We provide music for our community, provide free admission to our concerts for those who cannot afford tickets, perform for several city events each year, and more. But we may not be able to continue unless this bill is repealed."
John: "I'm a freelance composer in the film industry and consistently employ musicians throughout the year, in addition to my own freelance employment. If this comes down as onerous as it appears to be, I will have not choice but to leave the state I was born and raised in and/or increase my employment of oversea musicians and out of state musicians."
Danielle: "I am a freelance court reporter in California. We are not part of the gig economy. We are highly trained and skilled and work for various court reporting firms, law firms and courthouses. We make our own schedule and accept the work we choose. We are no way employees with the many firms we work for. Classifying freelance court reporters as employees will affect our livelihood in a negative way."
Jamie: "I am a freelance licensed stenographer/court reporter licensed by the state of California. AB5 will impact my livelihood in so many ways. I choose to be an independent contractor."
Jennifer: "I have been a self employed sign language interpreter for 40 years. If I have to follow AB 5, I wouldn't been able to work anymore, since I'm getting close to retirement age. I love my work, I love choosing my own schedule, and interpreters are in high demand."
Tricia: "I am a freelance court reporter, licensed by the State of California. I have been an independent contractor for 25 years, business license issued by City of San Diego. My clients are reporting agencies. I choose my assignments, negotiate my own rates, provide my own equipment, set my own schedule, and invoice over 30 clients (agencies) a year. I am now being told by my clients that they cannot do business with me unless I incorporate. I am a sole proprietor and have decided a corporation is not best for me, but I will be driven into bankruptcy if I don't."
Candi: "I have two children to support and AB 5 would be financially detrimental for my family. The ability to be an independent and name my own rates has allowed me to make ends meet to support my family."
Michele Ann: "I have spent most of my adult life creating a career as a freelance writer. I have non-traditional skills that would prevent me from being hired by a newspaper but I have a longterm newspaper client for just this reason, I have skills staff writers do not have. If I were to lose this gig (about 110 articles a year), everything, including my ability to write books (I've written 24 so far) would fall apart."
Colleen: "I am a court reporter in California that does depositions. I do work for many different firms. Two firms have already notified me that they can no longer give me work. I am the one who supports my family, and I have been doing this work for over 30 years. I'm not sure what to do now..."
Calista: "I am a terminal manager for a transportation company that leases owner operators to transport mobile offices and manufactured homes. Due to this law, the company I work for will be closing my terminal and canceling the California based owner operators leases. "
Lee: "My wife and I are independent insurance adjusters. AB5 is having huge and negative impacts on our profession. "
Jennifer: I am a freelance American Sign Language interpreter, and the only way for our industry to successfully deliver quality interpretation and translation services to members of the deaf community is to allow our long-standing business structure to remain intact. AB5 would cause serious harm to the provision of interpretation and translation services to deaf individuals.
Orson: "I am an operatic tenor and artist. The implementation of this law would greatly affect my ability to bring awareness and inspiration to the communities at large."
Josh: "(AB5) is devastating for opera singers in California. I hire hundreds of singers and musicians per year, and this bill may cut that number in half, or force us to close all together."
Amy: "I am an independent contractor physical therapist by choice so that I can work part time and care for my child. Please repeal AB5 because it will take a lot of moms out of the work force."
Kaitlyn: "Having recently moved to California, I've been relying heavily on freelance writing as a source of income. With the passing of AB5, I have just been locked out of my freelance writing platforms, and am left to scramble to find other means to pay my bills. "
Rosemary: "I am a freelance Sign Language interpreter with a very specialized skill set that I have worked many years to develop. AB5 hinders my ability to meet a specific language need in the deaf community by blocking agencies from hiring me when and as needed."
Haana: "I am a music producer and it unnecessarily complicates every aspect of my business currently as a sole proprietor. This bill will be the death of the music industry in CA."
Coleen: "As an independent freelance Certified Shorthand Reporter (CSR), AB5 is going to put me and the firms I work for out of business. We as freelance CSRs have always been independent contractors. It allows us to have a flexible schedule, to work for multiple agencies when we want to, so we have time for our family and other commitments. "
Andrew: "As a nurse anesthesiologist, I have found AB5 to limit my ability to have multiple contracts and affect my business negatively. Those I contract with no longer feel safe offering a 1099 contract to me; however, neither of us are interested in a W2. This inhibits my ability to be competitive in the field. "
Angel: "This law will negatively effect my ability to manage my business. All of my contractors work for me about 2 hours out of each month, there is no way I can keep up with the amount of paperwork in turning them into employees. This law will ruin my business."
Kerry: "I have been working as a freelance court reporter since 1999. I also do transcription and scoping works. I should be able to continue the career I have established for the last 21 years."
Joe: "I am a freelancer. Freelancing has been necessary for me in California to make ends meet and support my family. Having read the text of (AB5), I fear it will be too difficult to find companies who are willing to utilize my services. I may be unable to continue working with some of my current clients. "
Lourdes: "I am an independent freelance court reporter who loves being able to work whenever I choose. As a mother of two very young children, this bill will definitely impact my livelihood on being able to provide for my family. "
Sandy: "I'm a self employed musician, bandleader and instructor. If I have to do payroll for my band members, it will most likely make it unfeasible to continue to do work as a musician. "
Misti: "Due to the passing of AB5, I had to quit working as a licensed massage therapist. Being an independent contractor at a chiropractors office, I do not have the money to be setting up a business right now. "
Alicia: "I just got my first notice that because of AB5 I won't be paid for a big comedy show I'm promoting - but I have to do the show anyway in order to get more shows. This could cripple my performing career."
Renee: "The last few months have been an emotional roller coaster because of AB5. As a small business in the entertainment transcription and translation field I've utilized the skills of local transcription specialists. It pained me to tell my California transcribers that I could no longer work with them. The law is causing chaos, grief, fear and anger in the CA freelance community."
Lynn: "I am a transcriptionist. I work from home and I love it. Just recently, without notice, the companies I work for were forced to cut off all their California workers. They are still operating, because they have transcriptionists all over the world working for them. But those of us in California just lost our livelihood."
Rene: "I am a freelance certified stenographer. I've been working as an independent contractor for over 30 years. This is the only way deposition reporters can operate and be viewed as independent, non-biased parties in litigation."
Andi: "As a highly skilled and educated freelancer, this law adversely impacts my ability to provide for my family. My work as a freelancer allows me to homeschool and contribute to my household financially. This law greatly impacts us and as a result, I am considering a move out of my native state so that we may continue to provide for our family."
Gwen: "I have been a freelance certified stenographer since 1986. I work for as many as 15-20 different agencies in any given year reporting pre-trial depositions. I am trained for nothing else. It would be devastating for me. I would not be able to be an employee because that would mean I was not impartial, which a court stenographer absolutely must be. The burden it would be on the legal industry needs to be considered as well as the harm to all freelance reporters working in the state."
Elisabeth: "I am an independent, reporter-owned court reporting business and working freelance reporter. This AB5 is killing my business."
Kathryn: "I am (was) a transcriber working from home. I am a senior citizen living on a very small fixed income and absolutely need the little bit of money I earned as an independent contractor. AB5 has devastated my life. I don't know how I will be able to pay my bills and afford to live."
Jennifer: "I am a freelance Spanish interpreter and choose to be independent. I contract with about 40 Language Services Companies each year, subcontract from 10 to 15 colleagues and have a handful of direct clients. I have already received a couple new contracts from the Language Services Companies with indemnity sections that place the burden for enforcement of AB5 on the individual interpreters. If I refuse to sign these contracts, I will lose out on an estimated $8,000 of income in 2020. AB5 will dismantle our industry's decades-old, proven independent contractor model and force us to adopt an unsustainable alternative which will drive many language professionals to leave our thriving career. "
Cindy: "I have been a sign language interpreter for 30 years. I have been self-employed for 25 of those years. If AB5 is not repealed, it will seriously affect my income in a negative way. As a self-employed person I control how much I charge per hour and hopw many hours I work on any given day. AB5 will take away the freedom that I have had for 25 years to live and work in a way that works for me. "
Marianne: "As a freelance reporter, I do not work with one firm exclusively due to where I reside. I need to work with multiple court reporting firms all over the state. If AB5 is not repealed, there will be many freelance court reporters who will retire. "
Julia: "I am a translator and certified interpreter for State and Federal Courts, and have been an independent contractor in California for almost 30 years. Some of my clients retain my services only a few times per year. We provide a professional and fundamental service to our community. Far from protecting us, AB5 is the reason many interpreters and translators already started losing their jobs."
Kyle: "I am a freelance writer working for a number of publications. AB5 would absolutely gut my work load, cutting my pay by 70% and leaving me unable to pay bills to support my family. "
Jeffrey: "I've been doing writing and editing work as a remote-working independent contractor for nearly three years now. In anticipation of AB5, my employer stopped renewing the contracts of California workers. I haven't been able to find work since then. "
Jayson: "I'm an independent owner operator in the trucking industry. With the passage of AB5, my 25 years worth of work will be destroyed. "
Michelle: "I am a nail technician renting a space in a very tiny hair salon. I am my sole provider and this bill will put me out of business. "
Joshua: "I am a freelance musician who will be severely affected by this bill. If clubs and restaurants are hit with the extra expenses of making every musician they hire "employees," they will simply opt for strictly pre-recorded music. Essentially, creatives will be completely squeezed out of the California economy. "
Steven: "I am a freelance musician. If left as-is, this bill will be the death blow to my career, my colleague's careers, and my industry."
Cris: "I am a freelance sign language interpreter. To force interpreters to become employees is to endanger their livelihood and self determination, and also endangers the availability of interpreters for the deaf community. "
Elizabeth: "I have a disability which makes flexible hours essential to my ability to earn income. My health has improved when I can freelance more and get out of the set schedule and being in an office. Now the one thing I can predictably and successfully earn income with is disappearing. This law is hurting all of us who need to work flexible and irregular schedules for all kinds of family and health reasons."
Jeff: "I am a picture editor in the entertainment industry. The amount of companies that now deny loan out services has grown and it is affecting earnings."
Stacy: "I am a consumer who has had the cost of AB5 passed onto me. I take music lessons. The music company that provides the lessons through the use of independent contractors has passed their costs of having to hire these independent contractors as employees onto me. The cost of my lessons has increased as a result of AB5, I may have to cancel them. "
Kate: "I have a social media management business and am at a point where I no longer do all the work myself. I have 4 clients and am already burning out physically and mentally. However, I need to take on more clients in order to make a livable income. Without contractors helping me, I will not be able to do so. My business will suffer and so will my ability to make enough money to pay my bills because i cannot afford to hire them as employees. "
Shonna: "I had to close my company of 10 years due to the AB5 law! It has destroyed my finances, and I had to lay off 20 people. It is very difficult to keep up a small business for many people at this point. "
Ernie: "I have been a columnist for several publications. When AB5 was adopted my workload was essentially cut in half. I lost one column entirely and was cut back to 35 annually on a second for one publication. For a second publication, my work was cut to 35. This has been a significant loss of income for me."
David: "I’m a journalist and seven-time published author. I freelance as a means to supplement my income and feed my family, but now I can’t contribute to my own blog and I’m missing out on $1,000 per month."
Dave: "Until AB5 erased my income, I was a successful freelance writer. Several of my largest and most lucrative clients stopped working with me on January 1, causing my income to plummet."
Ryan: "I'm an entertainer who performs mostly at private events. When I am already booked, I send out 2 other people to perform. I signed contracts with clients and took deposits back in 2018-19 for shows in 2020. The budgets were set. Now having to pay for workers comp, payroll taxes, accountants, payroll company, sick days, I stand to lose $89,000 in 2020."
Esther: "I am a freelance interpreter, I help people who do not speak English communicate with their medical providers. I am a proud senior, capable of being independent and self sufficient. AB5 leaves me out of work. "
Anne: "Since being laid off in 2016, I've managed to build a steady stream of income through freelance writing and consulting. Because I don't have to commute, I am more productive and earn more. I'm also grateful for the flexibility to work while still being able to spend plenty of time with my young child. Due to the high cost of child care, I cannot afford to take a full-time job—but working for myself has made it possible for me to be a good worker and a good parent. However, due to AB5, I'm at risk of losing my main client and only consistent and predictable source of income. Many companies are simply choosing not to work with California freelancers, instead abandoning long-standing professional relationships only because of AB5. The ripple effects of AB5 mean lost wages and lost opportunity not just for freelancers, but for the fellow workers we employ. If I lose my clients, my husband and I will no longer be able to afford our home. "
Connie: "I am a transcriptionist. All the transcription work is now going out of state. No transcription company in California will use us, and the transcription companies out of state won't use us. We are out of work because of AB5."
John: "I am a guest orchestral conductor. I depend on my contractor status to maintain sustainable fees, while not fleecing orchestras. Because of this bill, I just lost my first scheduled job with an orchestra - $9000 that would have put a dent in my student loans, or helped pay my insurance, or paid for food and shelter is now gone - all because of AB5."
Angel: "I run a small entertainment company and use about 300 contractors through the course of the year. Some I will use once some 15-20 times. The costs of making them employees, work comp, payroll costs etc. will put me out of business."
Janet: "As an independent songwriter, AB5 gravely endangers my ability to earn a living."
Aedan: "I’m a 27 year old freelance writer and my heart is broken. As is, full-time positions within media companies are a rarity — and now the two that I primarily do freelance contributions for have let me go because of AB5. This not only has stripped me of an opportunity to pursue my passion and make some semblance of money from it, but it’s extremely disheartening to those who pay their bills (and taxes)."
Angelica: "I became a certified interpreter just last year. Finding agencies is hard and now the few I know are asking me to become incorporated, until I get a business license/corporation, I cannot work. I haven't worked as an interpreter so far in January. My bills are starting to add up."
Stephanie: "I am an American Sign Language Interpreter who has already lost work after AB5 was passed. Many agencies that I contract with cannot afford to make us all employees so my contracts were terminated. I chose this profession knowing that the majority of my work would be as an independent contractor and I was okay with that. Now, after 10-plus years in the field, I don't have any say in what jobs I take because there aren't any for me to choose from. What's worse is my Deaf clientele won't have as many interpreters to choose from and there are already not enough of us in this field."
Myrna: "I started working with a company doing remote dental billing in January of 2018 to supplement my Social Security check. I am 66 and I really loved staying home and doing my job in the field that I’m good at. Now I am told I have to get an LLC which I cannot afford to keep being an independent contractor with them. So I have lost my job and my income that was helping me stay in my home and on my feet."
Eddie: "As a freelance musician and sound engineer, I am hired by various groups for either or both of my professional services. None of which am I an employee nor should I be because there is no guaranteed 40 hours of work per work or otherwise. Moreover, my wife and I have adapted our lives, especially in regards to our children, to not have to pay much in babysitting because my flexible schedule allows me to work when I want and be home when I want. Becoming an employee somewhere would do far more bad than good for us."
Jessica: "I have been an American Sign Language interpreter for the deaf for half my life. Many agencies I work with are letting go of all ties with ICs and hiring a skeleton crew of employees to cover some of their work. Others are shutting down. I am now down to very, very few options to feed my family. From someone who has worked full time my entire career, I’ll be very lucky if I can work even part time now. "
Ellen: "I am a Dance Teacher and Choreographer working in several different schools and community centers, with contracts that last generally between six weeks and three months. AB5 will kill my livelihood of more than 30 years."
Charles: "For the past three years, I've worked as a freelance writer producing translations for one client and copywriting for dozens of clients through a referral service. As a result of AB5, I've been reduced to 34 submissions a year from well over 700 by the referral service, which is about 60% of my income."