Till Death Do Us Part

Independent contractors have been around since the beginning of time. Throughout history man has hired workers to do a job with no strings attached or expectation of continued employment. The worker was hired, performed the services, received payment and moved on to the next job.  This practice over time gained enormous popularity and on the surface a great solution to an age old worker shortage problem. The no strings attached practice provided both the employer and the worker temporary relationships currently referred to as "contingent workforce" a way of life for many. This transient labor pool includes independent contractors, temporary workers, leased workers, agency worker (payrolled worker) and other titles that do not include the traditional employer/employee relationship.  According to the Government Accountability office (GAO) there are about 42 million contingent workers roughly 30 percent of the overall US workforce. A great solution for truly project based work and when used properly a win/win all the way around. But not everyone supports "pay as you go"" especially when it threatens a way of life for some. 

Strong opinions of naysayers like Lynn Woolsey a representative of California who is quick to shift the entire blame to the employer and are a constant in the movement for change  "The use of contract workers gives the employer a great advantage over the workers, says Woolsey. "We need to turn that around where workers actually receive their share of benefits for the amount of benefit they bring to a company."  In her view the current model benefits only the employer and the worker is left to fend for themselves. The piece she doesn't understand is the employer is not always in the driver's seat and the worker often calls all the shots. Traditional employment arrangements are not high on a contracted workers list and those on the independent contractor track run from full time employment. Semi-retired or retired baby boomers and other one person shows want the flexibility to work when they want. If left up to Woolsey and other supporters of the death of the freelancer model the axe would fall tomorrow. Groups like the teamsters, politicians and union representatives would fill the stands at the gallows in support of doing away with non-traditional work arrangements. But the reality folks in the end these work practices will not go quietly and disappear but stay underground where business as a freelancer is booming!

But in spite of changes in the law to address non traditional workers the wheel of change moves slowly. Although lawmakers continue to push legislative change directed at the employer with incentives like stiff fines and penalties the 300 pound guerrilla in the room continues to go unnoticed. Until law makers apply similar pressure to the contractors and hold them equally accountable and the watch dogs will continue to chase their tails. Continuance of ongoing employer scrutiny, criticism of the staffing industry who only want to help ease worker shortages and failure to apply equal pressure to the other contracting party are reasons enough to give us pause. Is this really all about helping out the worker ensuring they receive a fair shake?

Proper treatment of workers, fair pay and benefits should be offered accordingly. 

And remember it takes 2 to tango!