HSB 546 (LSB 5136YC (2) 87)

HOUSE FILE _____ 

BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE BILL BY CHAIRPERSON COWNIE)

A BILL FOR

An Act defining marketplace contractors and designating marketplace contractors as independent contractors under specified circumstances.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  93.1  Definitions
   As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
   1.  “Governmental entity” means the same as defined in section 96.19.
   2.  “Indian tribe” means the same as defined in section 96.19.
   3.  “Marketplace contractor” means a person who does all of the following:
   a.  Enters into a written agreement with a marketplace platform to use the marketplace platform’s digital network to connect with individuals or entities that seek to obtain services from the marketplace contractor.
   b.  Performs services for individuals or entities upon connection through a marketplace platform’s digital network in exchange for compensation or payment of a fee.
   4.  “Marketplace platform” means a person who operates a digital network to connect marketplace contractors to individuals or entities that seek to obtain the type of services offered by marketplace contractors.
   5.  “Person” means the same as defined in section 4.1.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  93.2  Marketplace contractors as independent contractors —— retroactivity.
   1.  A marketplace contractor shall be treated as an independent contractor, and not an employee of a marketplace platform, for all purposes under state or local law, including but not limited to chapters 87 and 96, if the following conditions are met:
   a.  The marketplace contractor and marketplace platform agree in writing that the marketplace contractor is engaged as an independent contractor and not an employee of the marketplace platform. 
   b.  The marketplace platform does not unilaterally prescribe specific hours during which the marketplace contractor must be available to accept service requests submitted through the marketplace platform’s digital network. 
   c.  The marketplace platform does not prohibit the marketplace contractor from engaging in outside employment or performing services through other marketplace platforms. 
   d.  The marketplace contractor bears its own expenses incurred in performing services. 
   2.  For services performed by a marketplace contractor prior to the effective date of this Act, a marketplace contractor shall be treated as an independent contractor and not an employee of a marketplace platform for all purposes under state or local law, including but not limited to chapters 87 and 96, if the conditions set forth in subsection 1 were satisfied at the time the services were performed.
   3.  This section shall not apply to any of the following:
   a.  Services performed by an individual in the employ of a governmental entity or Indian tribe, but only if the services are excluded from employment as defined in the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, 26 U.S.C. §3301-3311, solely by reason of section 3306(c)(7) of that Act.
   b.  Services performed by an individual in the employ of a religious, charitable, educational, or other organization, but only if the services are excluded from employment as defined in the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, 26 U.S.C. §3301-3311, solely by reason of section 3306(c)(8) of that Act.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to marketplace contractors. 
   The bill defines “marketplace contractor” to mean a person who enters into a written agreement with a marketplace platform to use its digital network to connect with individuals or entities that seek to obtain services from the marketplace contractor and who performs services for individuals or entities for payment upon connection through a marketplace platform’s digital network. The bill defines “marketplace platform” to mean a person who operates a digital network to connect marketplace contractors to individuals or entities seeking the type of services offered by marketplace contractors. 
   The bill provides that a marketplace contractor shall be treated as an independent contractor, and not an employee of a marketplace platform, for all purposes under state or local law, if the following conditions occur: the parties agree in writing that the marketplace contractor is an independent contractor and not an employee of the marketplace platform; the marketplace platform does not unilaterally prescribe specific hours during which the marketplace contractor must be available to accept service requests; the marketplace platform does not prohibit the marketplace contractor from engaging in outside employment or performing services through other marketplace platforms; and the marketplace contractor bears its own expenses incurred in performing services. 
   The bill provides that for services performed by a marketplace contractor prior to the effective date of the bill, a marketplace contractor shall be treated as an independent contractor if the conditions set forth in the bill were satisfied at the time the services were performed.
   The bill specifies that the bill does not apply to services performed by an individual in the employ of a government entity or Indian tribe, as defined in the bill, or services performed by an individual in the employ of a religious, charitable, educational, or other organization, but only if the services are excluded from the definition of employment in the Federal Unemployment Tax Act.