Aimee Benavides has spent the past two decades using her English- and Spanish-language skills to help those in need. She earns a living as an interpreter in courthouses, assisting witnesses and defendants who don’t understand what’s happening — and she specializes in the agribusiness sector, where farmers and advisers must share very technical information.
“I like it because it’s very scientific,” says Benavides, who built her career as an independent contractor. “And the information being shared helps to feed people. Even if I’m not getting my hands dirty, I’m helping to convey information that makes farming more efficient and cleaner for the environment.”
Her entire career, along with millions of other skilled independent contractor careers, is now threatened by legislation before Congress called the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act. Part of the bill known as the ABC Test would reclassify anyone like her — which is to say, anyone who works in the same line of business as the client hiring them — from an independent contractor to an employee under labor law.
Recent Comments