H.R. 1320: Modern Worker Security Act

H.R. 1320 would create a nationwide federal rule: if a company gives you benefits, that fact alone can't help prove you're an employee.

The bill applies across any federal law, not just one labor agency or one workplace program. If you're a gig worker, freelancer, contractor, or temp worker, benefits like health insurance, paid leave, workers' comp, disability coverage, or retirement savings could no longer be counted in your favor in a federal classification dispute.

Supporters argue that companies are more likely to offer portable benefits if those benefits can't later be used as evidence of an employment relationship. The tradeoff is that workers who say they were misclassified would lose one more argument they might otherwise use to show they were really employees.

The bill defines benefits broadly. It covers benefits you can keep after leaving the job, traditional full-time employee benefits, and contributions made by the company, by you, or by both together.

In practice, H.R. 1320 is less about creating new benefits than changing the rules of the fight over what those benefits mean.