Women want flexibility. The Biden administration waged war on entrepreneurs and sought to snuff out the flexible, independent contracting opportunities that make it possible for millions of women to work. However, the Trump administration can win with women if it protects every person’s freedom to work as they see fit. As former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer approaches confirmation hearings to lead the Department of Labor, we hope she will take up this charge.

Over the past five years, self-employed people in the United States, from freelancers to gig workers, have faced hurdle after hurdle. An estimated 9.4 million small businesses closed up shop in 2020 due to the pandemic. Freelancers in the state of California faced a double whammy of pandemic closures and the effects of a labor law, Assembly Bill 5. 

AB5 adopted a strict three-pronged test to determine whether a freelancer or gig worker could be classified as an independent contractor. Consequently, Californians across hundreds of occupations were reclassified as employees, forcing workers to either give up their independence and become traditional employees — if employers could afford to offer that option — or give up those contracts and their income. Self-employment plummeted by 10.5%, and overall employment fell by 4.4% in California as a result of AB5, according to research by the Mercatus Center. 

Most women who opt for independent contracting work do so to balance earnings with life priorities such as raising children, caregiving for aging parents, or managing their own health conditions. They don’t want the constraints of traditional employment.

It’s incomprehensible that the Biden administration sought to nationalize California’s hardship. Through a series of labor policies that erected new obstacles for the flexible workforce, former President Joe Biden and liberal policymakers aimed to strip self-employed and gig workers of their freedom to work on their own schedules.

First, the Biden Department of Labor overturned the welcomed Trump-era rule that simplified the standard to determine worker status by focusing primarily on who is in control of the work and whether the worker has the opportunity for profit or loss resulting from their own initiative or investment.

Next, Biden and Democrats, with the support of a few Republicans, sought to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, a sweeping bill that would have codified California’s restrictive ABC test into federal law and undermined self-employment in the U.S.

Third, after this legislative assault on freelancers failed to advance, the Biden Department of Labor finalized its own regulatory crackdown on flexible work. Independent contractors now face a more stringent multifactor test inspired by California’s AB5 and ABC test. The new rule increases confusion and uncertainty, as six or more factors must be considered, with no one factor carrying greater weight than another.

Women across the country are rightly fearful that they will lose the careers they have built and the flexibility they depend on to stay attached to the labor force.

Angela Masterson is a female trucker who hauls the most sensitive U.S. military freight across thousands of miles of our nation’s roadways. She and her husband have invested significant time and money into purchasing their big rig and maintaining their own business as trucking owner-operators. The Biden independent contractor rule undercuts this business model, and if not overturned, she explained, “would strip us of our ability to choose when we work and when we need to be home.”

“It’s literally a matter of national security,” according to Sheryl Myers, a female trucking owner-operator who not only worries about the loss of flexibility and financial investment that drivers such as her face but also the effect of mass reclassification of truckers on the military and the economy.

“This will cause prices to rise,” she told IW Features. “It will cause huge supply chain issues, and it will cause a bottleneck in the workforce that could be an absolute detriment to our economy.”

As senators investigate Chavez-DeRemer’s plans to lead the Labor Department, here are a few questions that women hope for answers to: 

• As a wife and mother, do you recognize the unique and invaluable role that independent contracting offers to women? 
• As a small business owner, do you appreciate the importance of the independent contractor model in supporting solo entrepreneurs and small enterprises that do not generate enough revenue to sustain hiring employees? 
• What is your view of California’s AB5 law and the hardship it imposed on freelancers, independent professionals, and gig workers? 
• How do you envision the Department of Labor protecting women’s freedom to choose when, where, and how to work? 

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Worker freedom is at risk for those who choose self-employment, freelancing, and gig work. However, President Donald Trump is committed to protecting American workers and supporting entrepreneurs.  Chavez-Remmer has a unique opportunity to veer our workforce away from Biden-era policies by advancing Trump’s pro-worker, pro-women agenda. 

Patrice Onwuka is director of the Center for Economic Opportunity at Independent Women and cohost of WMAL’s O’Connor & Company.