Suing California Over its Freelance Writer Law

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Destroying Jobs Through a Government Mandate.

The law states that California residents who rely on writing for a living will face severe restrictions. In fact, writers in the state-organized group, CA Freelance Writers United, organized to fight the changes going into effect on January 1, 2020.

According to AB5, the state's law, freelancers who live in the Golden State could not write more than 35 articles per year unless the company hires them as an outright employee. For writers that depend on this income for their livelihoods, this may ultimately destroy their jobs.

I worked my way up the employment chain the old fashioned way. From the Marine Corps to a variety of blue-collar jobs, I hate the idea that the state might restrict the ability of the average person to get ahead. Even worse, thousands of writers across the country will lose their jobs-- or at least a large chunk of their income when this bill becomes law. All of this is profoundly unfair and represents why California is in so much trouble as a whole.

What Are My Legal Options?

This is a crucial question in the days before the law goes into effect. Not every freelance site and newspaper can afford to add employees to the payroll and pay for worker's comp, additional insurance, and payroll taxes. Besides, this new law turns upside down the traditional relationship between writers and their publishers.

For starters, the Freelancers United Group may be launching a class-action lawsuit against the state for their actions. Furthermore, a regular civil case may not be what is in order here. Instead, a determined effort to get the law overturned as unconstitutional is perhaps the best order of the day. Altogether, such a mandate undermines the average person's ability to make a living. That is unacceptable.

For the effects of the law and more coverage, keep reading our legal blog here.