Changes May Come for California’s Gig Economy Law

California’s new gig economy law limiting the use of independent contractors may see changes soon as state lawmakers introduce more than 30 bills to amend it. The law was signed last year by Gov. Gavin Newsom and limits employers’ ability to label employees who work a certain number of hours as “independent contractors,” while requiring businesses to give those workers benefits like sick pay and overtime. The law has faced pushback from technology companies that rely on independent contractors, like Uber and Postmates, as well as from some freelance worker groups. Most of the proposed changes would expand the list of occupations exempted from the law, including pharmacists, marriage therapists, youth sports referees, journalists, photographers, and loggers. State Rep. Lorena Gonzalez, the sponsor of the original bill who has herself proposed an amendment for freelance writers, said that she is open to amendments. “If there are situations that need to be addressed, I want to understand them. I take this seriously. Labor law is complicated. I’m not trying to pretend there’s an easy solution,” she said. Republican opponents to the law say it has been overly restrictive on freelancers and want to see it repealed. “Independent contractors are being hurt by this anti-worker law and some have lost their ability to earn a living,” said state Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove. State Sen. Cathleen Galgiani, a Democrat, has proposed creating a third classification of workers in between employee and independent contractor. “There are individuals who don’t fit neatly into a category. How do we accommodate those kinds of workers and give them both protections and flexibility? There should be a way to accomplish both,” she said. Uber, Lyft and DoorDash have also been gathering signatures for a ballot measure campaign to specifically exempt the companies’ drivers from being classified as employees. [Los Angeles Times; San Diego Union-Tribune; Sacramento Bee]

QUIT VAPING | New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the creation of a new program to help young people quit vaping through text-based support. The service, which is geared towards 13- to 24-year-olds, offers encouragement and coping strategies in daily text messages. Cuomo called the dramatic increase in vamping among young people “alarming” and part of a “deadly epidemic” that could lead to lifelong nicotine addictions. "We're taking bold and aggressive actions to ban all flavored nicotine vaping products, end these unscrupulous vaping advertisements aimed at our kids, and offer teens a simple way to get help quitting vaping," Cuomo said. [WHCU]

CONFEDERATE FLAGS | The mayor and a city council member from Tucson, Arizona are calling for the removal of Confederate flags from the city’s annual Rodeo Parade. Mayor Regina Romero said that she has long enjoyed the parade, but was disappointed to find out that the Confederate flag is displayed along with the state flag. “I will be respectfully requesting that the Tucson Rodeo Parade Committee remove it from all future parades and instead recognize the history of our city’s heritage by including the Tohono O’odham and Pascua Yaqui flags, with their respective nations’ consent,” she said. Councilmember Lane Santa Cruz said the city council has received calls from residents asking them to remove the flag from the parade. She argued that the Tucson Rodeo Parade Committee has “fed into Confederate revisionism, which is the narrative that the Civil War was about state rights, not about slavery; that the Confederate cause was just and heroic.” Curtis E. Tipton, a representative of the Sierra Vista-based chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, said that he wasn’t worried about the complaints. “The city doesn’t run the parade anyway. If she doesn’t want to go to the parade, that’s fine,” he said. [Associated Press]

DRAG QUEENS | Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is facing pushback from conservatives who were angered by a photo he took with local drag queens while appearing at a rally for LGBTQ rights. Republican state Sen. Phillip Wheeler criticized the Democratic governor, saying “these are the values that the Democratic party of today is out there trying to convince our children’s the right way to live.” Beshear said that Wheeler’s remarks were homophobic and that he owes the drag queens in the photo an apology. “I don't think he is the fashion police for the Capitol … They are as much Kentuckians as anybody else,” Beshear said. [NBC News] 

CHURCH AND STATE | A Republican state lawmaker in Oklahoma proposed a bill that would mandate “In God We Trust” be displayed prominently on all state buildings. Rep. Jay Steagall said that “government is based on the idea that our inalienable rights are granted to us by our creator. It is impossible to separate church from state. And our founders said we should not do that, actually.” [Tulsa World]