Free Republic

The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) cautioned the New York State Assembly that pursuing legislation with a narrow definition of employees and independent contractors (IC) could greatly injure the travel agency community in America’s fourth largest state. New York State is considering legislation that would amend state labor laws, tightening the definition of independent contractors and full-time employees. Senate Bill S6699A is sponsored by Robert Jackson, (D, 31st District), and is currently in the Senate Rules Committee. No movement is expected on the proposed legislation until the state legislature reconvenes in January 2020. The Assembly’s version is Bill A8721A....

The California lawmaker who wrote a consequential law requiring employers to provide benefits to more workers announced on Monday that she is resigning from the Assembly to become the chief executive of the state’s most powerful labor organization.

You may remember the controversial and rude statement from California’s Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (District 80) from last year regarding Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, which specializes in both electric vehicles and home energy solutions that include rooftop solar. Recently, Gonzalez not only backed but amended AB 1139, which could bring the state’s rooftop solar and storage market to a halt. The bill, nicknamed the “Anti-Solar Bill,” would kill the net energy metering policy that has allowed rooftop solar to grow sustainably Introduce new “grid access” monthly charge that will add $50–$86/month for the typical residential solar use. Adds prevailing...

California has claimed victory over the horrible abuse and exploitation of workers at the hands of evil employers with a new bill, AB666, which will make it a crime to work for a living. The new bill, signed into law by Governor Newsom Thursday, will stop the mistreatment of workers forever by making it illegal to work. "Employers used to do bad things -- well, not anymore," said Newsom at the bill signing. "Not on my watch. This solution is guided by SCIENCE. Leading SCIENTISTS say that when you can't work, you can't be exploited by evil corporations and wicked...

As president, Biden would replicate California’s repressive AB5 law. “Last year California passed AB5 affording gig workers protections and benefits like a minimum wage and overtime pay,” Joe Biden tweeted on Tuesday. “Now, gig economy giants are trying to gut the law and exempt their workers. It’s unacceptable. I urge Californians to vote no on the initiative this November.” The initiative, qualified for the ballot on May 22, establishes criteria for determining whether rideshare drivers are “employees” or “independent contractors.” AB5 also targets freelance writers and independent contractors in dozens of professions, including health care. Joe Biden was all in...

Dallas Mavericks Owner and billionaire investor Mark Cuban pushed back Wednesday on Tesla CEO Elon Musk for reportedly calling states' coronavirus shelter-in-place orders “fascist.” “Anything that negatively impacts Tesla, Elon hates, period, end of story,” Cuban said on “Fox News @ Night” on Wednesday. “I don’t think he has other people’s interests at heart. I mean, I don’t really know him at all, but that’s just my take.” During an earnings call on Wednesday, The Verge reported that Musk said, “The expansion of shelter-in-place, or as we call it, forcibly imprisoning people in their homes, against all their constitutional rights,...

The founder of Tesla thinks that "politicians and unelected bureaucrats" who have abused their power during the coronavirus pandemic deserve to be punished for their decisions to shut down state economies across the country.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Mich., criticized Tesla CEO Elon Musk for calling on the United States to reopen amid coronavirus in a Wednesday morning tweet. "Billionaires want to continue profiting off your labor even if it means risking millions of lives," Omar wrote. "They call this 'freedom.'"

Californian independent contractors and freelancers got quite a shock Thursday evening when a state senator compared lost jobs to “lollipops.” Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson represents the 19th District in western Ventura County and Santa Barbara County. In a Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement meeting officials heard arguments for and against pushing forward SB 806 and SB990. The bills — put forth by Republican senators John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa) and Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) — aimed to immediately suspend and amend the disastrous AB5 legislation that killed independent contracting/freelance jobs across the state. Moorlach and Grove have been two politicians at the...

<p>A California assemblywoman has drawn outrage with a blunt attack on Tesla’s plans to quit the Golden state — tweeting, “F–k Elon Musk.”</p> <p>Lorena Gonzalez sent the tweet late Saturday night shortly after Musk, 48, said he would move his pioneering tech company to either Texas or Nevada because of an ongoing spat about reopening in California.</p>

Since California’s controversial anti-freelancer bill was signed into law in September 2019, one (not unpredictable) result has been staffing shortages in the healthcare industry, particularly in fields generally staffed by contractors or locum tenens providers: physicians assistants, nurses, nurse anesthetists, and respiratory therapists. As the Wuhan coronavirus made its way into California, advocates who’ve been pushing to fix/amend/repeal AB5 let Asm. Lorena Gonzalez, the bill’s author, know in no uncertain terms that unless enforcement of AB5 was suspended until the crisis passed Californians who needed care from these professionals would die. Gonzalez didn’t listen, and people are dying. The populations...

Are California Democrats—responsible for the state’s new anti-gig-worker law, AB5—so out of touch that they’re not aware of the growing anger of their constituents? It appears so. Since AB5 took effect on January 1, hundreds of thousands of Californians are finding their businesses in tatters. Musicians can’t join bands for a one-night gig, chefs can’t join forces with caterers, nurses can’t work at various hospitals, and writers must cap their submissions per media outlet to 35 per year. Under the law, these freelancers can no longer conduct the same business-to-business transactions they have for years or even decades. Clients with...

<p>“Frankly, this is the final straw. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately. If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be depend on how Tesla is treated in the future. Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA.”</p>

Tesla Inc. is moving its headquarters to Austin, Texas, cementing Chief Executive Elon Musk’s commitment to the Lone Star State and adding to a handful of Silicon Valley companies that have relocated there.

It's no secret that Elon Musk puts a tremendous number of hours into his work, famously working upwards of 120 hours per week, and sharing his opinion that founders need to work 80-plus hours a week. The astronomical number leaves many wondering how he finds time to sleep and exhausted by the thought of working so much. It appears as though the founder of multiple companies and father of seven has more hours in the day than others. And, of course, while this isn't so, there is something Musk has that others don't. Those who put in a great deal...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed Friday that his company’s move to Texas was, in part, inspired by a California lawmaker's incendiary tweet to him.

When Elon Musk took over Twitter in 2022, it marked a new era for the struggling San Francisco company. Twitter, now known as X, is expected to close its San Francisco headquarters this month, leaving behind the Mid-Market neighborhood it has called home since 2012. The company is reportedly moving its headquarters to Austin, Texas, but plans to relocate its San Francisco employees to San José and Palo Alto, ... ... another blow to a city...buffeted by high-profile business departures and once held up Twitter as a key part of its revival. Downtown San Francisco's vacancy rates have ballooned... Confronted...

Tesla is moving its headquarters from Palo Alto, California, to Austin, Texas, CEO Elon Musk announced at the company’s shareholder meeting on Thursday. The meeting took place at Tesla’s vehicle assembly plant under construction outside of Austin on a property that borders the Colorado River, near the city’s airport. However, the company plans to increase production in its California plant regardless of the headquarters move. “To be clear we will be continuing to expand our activities in California,” Musk said. “Our intention is to increase output from Fremont and Giga Nevada by 50%. If you go to our Fremont factory...

By Rob McLean, CNN Business Tesla HQ is getting a new home. "I'm excited to announce that we're moving our headquarters to Austin, Texas," CEO Elon Musk said Thursday during a Tesla shareholders meeting. The electric car company is currently based in Palo Alto, California, near its original headquarters in San Carlos, and its first factory, in Fremont. Musk said Thursday that there is a "limit to how big you can scale in the Bay area."

First Elon Musk, now Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg’s company, Meta (formerly Facebook), announced it would lease offices in a massive new building in Austin, Texas. Big tech companies, who cut their teeth and built empires in California, are fleeing the state and relocating to Texas. It's almost as if high taxes, stifling corporate regulations, and out-of-control housing costs are unattractive to businesses and long-term sustainability. Who knew? The Austin Business Journal was among the first to report on Meta’s move. “Months of speculation have come to an end as California-based Meta Platforms Inc. — the parent company of Facebook — recently...