Views expressed in opinion columns are the author’s own.
Across the world, there are very few people who claim to be against any number of vague definitions of freedom.
Everyone loves the concept of freedom, which is why it’s packaged into advertisements, symbols, policies and anything else to sell to the masses. But with two factors — 1) the malleability of the word ‘freedom’ and 2) lying — companies have long weaponized freedom to sell the nefarious concept of independent contracting to their current and prospective employees as a means to maintain their bottom line while leaving behind the well-being of their workers.
First, independent contractors service a company with a negotiated contract. So far, so good, right? Well, the major distinction between independent contractors and employees is that employees have legal protections, while contractors do not.
This doesn’t necessarily mean all independent contractors are being exploited — photographers or consultants can successfully work on their own volition by setting their own terms — but it does mean the workers who reside in the quasi-employed gray area are classified as contractors by their de facto employers in order to avoid many state and federal employment regulations.
For instance, those that employ independent contractors are not beholden to Title VII employee discrimination laws, the Family Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act or overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. They even get to...
We’ve spotted several social media posts sharing videos and stills supposedly of a power plant in Israel’s northern city of Haifa being “blown up” by an Iranian missile. While there have been repor...