GOP Bills Float Contractor Benefits Without Employee Status Risk

Republican lawmakers unveiled a legislative package that would allow gig worker employers like Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. to offer their independent contractors portable health and retirement benefits without triggering full-time employment obligations.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) introduced the Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act Monday. The legislation would decouple voluntary workplace benefits from standards regulators and the courts use to classify workers, protecting companies from misclassification lawsuits or wage and hour law enforcement.

Some 27 million Americans work as independent contractors, and many lack access to the same health insurance and retirement benefits their full-time colleagues enjoy because ...