January 10, 2024
Executive Summary
Florida’s independent workforce of nearly 890,000 documented contractors represents a vital and growing segment of the state’s labor force. While these contractors value their independence and flexibility, outdated regulations prevent businesses from offering them benefits without risking worker misclassification. Without access to employer-sponsored benefits, these workers lack crucial financial safeguards like health insurance, retirement savings, and paid time off that traditional employees routinely receive through their employers.
Rather than following California’s harmful reclassification approach, Florida can adopt an innovative portable benefits framework that preserves contractors’ flexibility while expanding access to essential benefits. Under this model, private entities could voluntarily contribute to portable benefit programs for independent contractors without triggering traditional employment relationships. These benefits would follow contractors across multiple clients and platforms, reflecting modern workforce dynamics. Critical to this framework is explicit statutory language stating that providing these benefits does not affect employment classification under state law.
Read “Breaking the Benefits Barrier: Florida’s Path to Portable Benefits” here.
