The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing entitled, “Freedom to Work: Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers.” The hearing was intended to discuss legislation introduced by Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) last week to allow employers to offer independent contractors portable benefits without triggering federal worker misclassification liability. The hearing also discussed related legislation from Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) to create a new test for determining worker classification and a bill from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) that would allow groups of independent contractors to band together to form association health plans.
During the hearing, Cassidy said that the legislative package “strengthens workers’ flexibility, making it clear what legally constitutes an independent contractor” and “increases workers’ access to health care and retirement accounts, like solo 401(k)s, that are already available under federal law.” Committee Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said that the package was “not about giving workers the freedom to work” but was about “giving corporations the freedom to deny workers the right to form a union…they’re about giving corporations the freedom to pay workers poverty wages and deny the overtime pay they are owed.”