David Weil’s Nomination Hurts Workers and the Economy

With the coronavirus pandemic hopefully safely in the past, it’s time to reflect on the adaptability of the U.S. economy during a crisis. With the loss of many jobs, employers and employees had to explore unorthodox options to keep themselves afloat. With public transportation closed or limited, ride share apps and freestanding bikes and scooters became more important to commuters. The nation was resilient. However, the administration is testing that resiliency with the nomination of Brandeis professor Dr. David Weil to head the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage & Hour Division.

Weil has long been a critic of sharing economy companies like Uber and Lyft. Now, he stands poised to oversee one of DOL’s most important enforcement arms at a time when there is a key legal debate over when and how companies may label workers as independent contractors. Weil has already clearly staked out his position. He can hardly be trusted to have the best interests of the nation at heart or to be an impartial member of the executive branch.

Independent contracting affords workers added flexibility and freedom, while offering employers a more cost-effective option to get needed work done. However, Weil supports a policy that would effectively make it impossible for anyone to qualify as an independent contractor. With that in place, companies will not be able to afford to hire as many people, given that full-time employees are significantly more expensive. Further, many workers with less experience will not be able to gain experience and make extra money because people like Weil want to make it prohibitively expensive to hire them.

Independent contractors – and the businesses that hire them – are not the only groups that find themselves in Weil’s cross hairs. Weil has also expressed disdain for the franchise industry. A franchise is when a company licenses their business model and some IP to a franchisee to use. In return, the franchisees pay fees and agree to abide by certain practices. In 2020, there were an estimated 8.4 million franchise employees. McDonald’s is a prominent company that uses this model.

In Weil’s self-proclaimed war on “fissure workplaces,” he intends to end the practices of outsourcing, franchising, and independent contracting. The fact that these practices are responsible for millions of jobs and free up resources to innovate is unimportant to people like Weil. This is because Weil is very closely aligned to the interests of powerful labor unions. As his nomination comes before the Senate, the Biden administration is also pushing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.

The PRO Act, aside from accomplishing many of Weil’s stated objectives on contracting, would also serve as a massive boon for unions. It would effectively eradicate right-to-work laws nationwide, which allow employers to opt out of joining unions and paying union dues. It would force some employers to hand over employee information to these powerful unions. Weil’s nomination Is just another step in the administration’s plan to boost unions at the expense of everyone else.

The last thing lawmakers should be doing on the other side of a global pandemic is hampering the ability of businesses and workers to get back on their feet. Now more than ever, businesses and workers need added flexibility. Unfortunately, the administration is proceeding with the nomination of someone who seeks to limit that flexibility from an unelected government position. This is dangerous in any number of ways and Senators on both sides of the aisle should be wary of confirming such an individual.

Dan Savickas is Government Affairs Manager for Taxpayers Protection Alliance.