Earlier this week, I traveled to Olympia, Washington to participate in the first legislative hearing on portable benefits for independent workers. Alongside David Rolf of SEIU 775, Nick Hanauer of Civic Ventures, Eli Lehrer of R Street Institute, and Karla Walter of the Center for American Progress, I testified before the Washington State House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee as they discussed legislation introduced by Representatives Jessyn Farrell and Derek Stanford to establish portable, pro-rated, and universal benefits for gig economy workers.
In my testimony, which you can find below, I note how encouraging it is that legislation has been introduced and a conversation has started in Washington on how best to repair a hole in the safety net that is affecting millions of workers across the country. Hopefully, this legislation will spur other state legislators to examine the issue and begin to develop proposals that help workers access needed benefits and protections.
