To: The Georgia State House and The Georgia State Senate
Don't Let Handy Write Their Own Rules for Georgia Gig Workers!
Vote NO on HB 789 -- it's a bad deal for workers that would prevent them from having the rights and protections of being employees, while also denying them the freedom of being truly independent contractors.
Why is this important?
Lobbyists from Handy, an online gig economy platform, are trying to rush through a bill that would give them - and other online platforms - special treatment when it comes to how they treat their workers. Georgia lawmakers are only in session until March 29th, so we need to act now to stop this bill! A similar bill in Florida recently passed after less than 10 minutes of discussion by lawmakers , and in Tennessee it has passed both houses even though the Senator behind the called the gig economy the "gigabyte economy" in his testimony.
Similar bills have already been introduced in 9 states by Handy, a company that just announced a partnership with Walmart, has the same lobbyist as Uber, and is facing five lawsuits for employee misclassification. The bill allows gig economy companies to treat workers as independent contractors, even if they don't receive the benefits of being an independent contractor, such as setting their own rates. Independent contractors should be just that -- independent. And if a worker doesn’t receive the benefits of being independent, they should receive the rights and protections of being an employee.
Handy is pushing this legislation because it will save them from the lawsuits they are facing in five states for employee misclassification. Handy CEO Oisin Hanrahan is on record saying that changing the laws "would definitely help with some of the litigation that's in play."
Lawmakers should be looking for solutions to extend rights and benefits to gig workers, not trying to save tech companies from lawsuits. There is a long history of excluding domestic workers from rights and protections, which is rooted in the legacy of slavery. Workers' voices need to be heard in these debates, but instead lawmakers are only listening to those like Handy lobbyist and venture capitalist Bradley Tusk. Tusk recently confessed that Handy chose Georgia and other states to introduce these bills because they believe they can pass them faster here than in states with stronger labor protections.
With Handy pushing these bills across 9 states, we have a chance to stop the legislation in Georgia, stand up for workers, and be an example for the rest of the country. Sign today to tell your state legislators that Handy shouldn’t get special treatment.
http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/14/news/economy/handy-gig-economy-workers/index.html