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What I’ve Been Reading This Week


This week, there is something for everyone:  An update on several new pieces of labor & employment legislation in Kentucky, an amendment to California’s Assembly Bill 5, and a potential change to the way World Wrestling Entertainment wrestlers are classified (re being independent contractors rather than employees.)

As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


Kentucky House Democrats Release Ambitious Range of Litigation 

Earlier this week, Kentucky House Democrats released a list of legislation that they have introduced, with an emphasis on Kentucky workers.  Of note, the legislation includes raising the hourly minimum wage rate in the state to $15/hour, repealing the state’s right to work law, reinstituting a prevailing wage, requiring paid sick leave and parental leave be provided to workers, and allowing for collective bargaining for all public employees.  While the legislation is ambitious, with a Senate and House in Republican majority control, most of this legislation likely will not advance too far.


Spending on California’s Proposition 22 Ballot Initiative Sets Record

Ahead of November’s elections, in which California voters will have their say on Proposition 22, spending on the initiative has topped $181.4 million (and counting.)  For those unaware, Proposition 22 is a ballot initiative backed by gig companies (such as Uber & Lyft) which seeks to make it easier to classify drivers as independent contractors rather than employees.  Hot on the heels of the passage of California’s Assembly Bill 5, these gig companies have sought to make Proposition 22 their attempt to undo that legislation.  (Readers will likely recall that Assembly Bill 5 made it easier, in fact much easier, to classify gig workers as employees rather than independent contractors.)  As Michael Hiltzik at The Los Angeles Times writes, with over $181.4 million having already been spent on Proposition 22 (and with several weeks still to go before the November 3rd vote), it is widely expected that this record setting spending will continue to increase heading into the home stretch.  Whether it will be enough to secure approval of Proposition 22 remains unclear (and frankly, somewhat doubtful based upon the California electorate.)


Former Democratic Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang Ready to Bodyslam WWE’s Wrestler Classification

In recent days, it has become known that World Wresting Entertainment (“WWE”) has implemented a policy prohibiting its workers from using their ring name and personal name in outside ventures (such as Twitch streams, YouTube channels, Cameos, etc.)  While the specifics of this new policy are apparently still being hashed out, the initial announcement brought a wave of criticism toward the company.  That criticism included Andrew Yang stating that if Joe Biden were elected President and appointed him as Labor Secretary, he would target WWE’s policy of classifying its wrestlers as independent contractors rather than employees.  (That classification issue has long been a source of controversy with many questioning how the company can classify the wrestlers as independent contractors when their work is so heavily controlled by the WWE.)  Whether Joe Biden gets elected and whether Andrew Yang would be appointed Labor Secretary are anyone’s guess.  However, if I were Vince McMahon, Chairman and CEO of WWE, I would be somewhat wary of what headaches a Democratic administration could bring to the wrestler classification matter.



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