Posted on 12/18/2019 1:12:09 PM PST by grundle
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Freelance writers and photographers on Tuesday filed the second legal challenge to a broad new California labor law that they say could put some independent journalists out of business.
The law taking effect Jan. 1 aims to give wage and benefit protections to people who work as independent contractors. While the public focus has been largely on ride-share companies such as Uber and Lyft, the lawsuit brought by the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the National Press Photographers Association says the law would unconstitutionally affect free speech and the media.
The lawsuit filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation challenged what it calls an “irrational and arbitrary” limit of 35 submissions each year to each media outlet.
That has “thrown our community into a panic, given that in the year 2020 digital media is a whole different beast than newspapers and journalism of the past,” said Los Angeles-based writer Maressa Brown, who founded California Freelance Writers United in September.
“You could hit 35 (submissions) in a matter of a few weeks, and we don’t feel that should require us submitting a W2, sitting in an office and tethered to a computer and under the oversight of one client,” said Brown, who likes having up to 15 clients at one time. “People are losing clients, income. Their livelihoods are under threat.”
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
Suing in a California court?
And they expect justice?
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaah!!
Exactly what happens when FEELINGS govern.
Welcome to socialism, losers.
“Are you now or have you ever been a freelance journalist in the state of California. If ‘yes’ you may be due thousands of dollars in unpaid wages. Call 1 800-555-5555.”
"Learn to code"
I’m going to miss those articles about gender studies professors offended by racist white people wanting to clean up urine and feces on the street with water hoses.
Someone posted a screen shot of a Vox article praising the law then the recent announcement Vox is cutting off all ties with California based freelance writers.
Haw haw haw.
Even if the law is rescinded in, say a year, this means that many California freelancers will probably never again work at the same level they were at last year. The reason is, thousands of new content creators in other states will get jobs. Some of them will be as good as, or better than, the California freelancers. Even if the newbies are just as good as, they will keep their new jobs.
I know a professional recruiter. He refuses to work with anyone based in California, company or job-seeker, because their laws were already too strict and required extra paperwork with the attendant fines for getting it wrong. Once the California freelancers have lost their places in line, they will be hurting for decades to come. (Incidentally, the thought by the California legislature was to force the content users to hire the freelancers as permanent employees. Talk about not understanding the market.)
One thing you can do is start your own sub-S corp and put yourself on the payroll as a W-2 employee of your own corp. Then your corporation, and not you personally, is selling articles to newspapers. Low-income freelancers have not done this in the past because of the overhead, but they might start now.
The states have given Congress the express 14th Amendment (14A) power to make penal laws to discourage state actors from abridging constitutionally enumerated protections.
From the 14th Amendment:
"Section 1: All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States [emphasis added]; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
"Section 5: The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article."
H O W E V E R…
"People are losing clients, income. Their livelihoods are under threat."
We're still stuck with a worthless Congress left over from the lawless Obama Administration that will predictably munch popcorn while watching CNN show jobless journalists joining the homeless on the streets because of California's questionable new law.
The remedy for constitutionally failed federal and state governments…
All patriots in the country need to come to the rescue of journalists being oppressed by California lawmakers.
More specifically, patriots need to elect a new patriot Congress in the 2020 elections that will not only promise to fully support PDJT's already excellent work for MAGA, now KAGA, but will also do this.
New patriot lawmakers also need to promise to exercise their 14A power to make penal laws that will discourage state lawmakers from making laws that abridge constitutionally enumerated protections, 1st Amendment-protected freedom of the press in this example.
Remember in November 2020!
MAGA! Now KAGA! (Keep America Great Always!)
As I understand it, a prime purpose behind the LEFT passing this law is that the Unions cannot unionize ‘Gig Workers’ (Uber/Lyft & freelancers). Add to this that some interpretations would make franchise units employees of the franchisors, adding more union workers.
It will be interesting to watch the inevitable legal challenges.
The madness of the Marxists displays itself on a daily basis.
All these people will lose work in California.
https://www.fiverr.com
For once, I am on the side of a liberal activist judge. Strike this lawsuit down!
I think this New Law should also be Applied to Actors and Actresses,Musicians, Artists,...
>>You could hit 35 (submissions) in a matter of a few weeks, and we don’t feel that should require us submitting a W2, sitting in an office and tethered to a computer and under the oversight of one client,” said Brown, who likes having up to 15 clients at one time. “People are losing clients, income. Their livelihoods are under threat.”
The newspapers aren’t hiring anyhow.
Either this will open up freelancing to all (35 submissions) or serve as job protection for the paid full time professionals.
But if you sell your history making photos to a wire service they will still run in multiple publications without affecting your ‘freelancer’ status.
Get the actors, directors, and writers under the Studio System again?
There was a law change in the 1990s if I recall properly in LA that taxed people who worked from home (software coding included) but exempted the $100k per script film writers.
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