The Law the Platforms Bought Back
Chronicles AB5's passage in September 2019, the platform-funded Proposition 22 campaign of November 2020, its passage, and the litigation that followed over its constitutionality.
Standing page
Chronology
Every dated event the pieces establish, from the guild founded in 1912 to the implementation deadlines still ahead. 96 entries, each one linked to the file it comes from.
1912
Authors League of America founded; later reorganised as the Authors Guild
Organising · Two Organisations for Writers Who Were Never Employees
1933
Screen Actors Guild chartered; Screen Writers Guild formed
Organising · The Guilds Had This Argument in the 1930s
1981
National Writers Union founded; later affiliated with the United Auto Workers / AFL-CIO
Organising · Two Organisations for Writers Who Were Never Employees
1989
Regus founded in Brussels by Mark Dixon
Coworking · Before Coworking, There Was the Serviced Office
1995
BLS Contingent Worker Supplement first fielded (February)
The Count · Twelve Years When Nobody Counted
1995
C-Base founded in Berlin's Mitte district as a member-run hackerspace
Coworking · Twelve Rooms Where the Work Got Done
1995
Sara Horowitz incorporates Working Today in New York
Organising · Somebody Had to Insure the Freelancers
1995
BLS runs its first Contingent Worker Supplement
Organising · Somebody Had to Insure the Freelancers
1997, 1999, 2001, 2005
subsequent iterations of the Supplement
The Count · Twelve Years When Nobody Counted
1999
Professional Contractors Group founded in direct response to the announced IR35 legislation
Organising · A Lobby Group Built Around One Tax Rule
1999
Inland Revenue publishes IR35 consultation document (March)
Classification · IR35 and the Twenty-Five Years Nobody Settled It
2000
Finance Act legislates IR35 into force
Classification · IR35 and the Twenty-Five Years Nobody Settled It
2001–03
dot-com collapse; US subsidiary files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Coworking · Before Coworking, There Was the Serviced Office
2003
Working Today relaunches as the Freelancers Union
Organising · Somebody Had to Insure the Freelancers
2005
Brad Neuberg opens the San Francisco Coworking Space; the word enters use
Coworking · Twelve Rooms Where the Work Got Done
2005
Brad Neuberg opens San Francisco Coworking Space, coining the term
Coworking · Before Coworking, There Was the Serviced Office
2007 onwards
Supplement unfunded; no federal count of contingent workforce
The Count · Twelve Years When Nobody Counted
2007–08
WGA strike, centred on digital/streaming residuals
Organising · The Guilds Had This Argument in the 1930s
2008
Freelancers Insurance Company launched as a member-owned insurer
Organising · Somebody Had to Insure the Freelancers
2008
Green Desk co-working floor opens in Brooklyn (Neumann and McKelvey)
Coworking · The Valuation That Required a Different Definition of Real Estate
2008 onwards
own-account worker share of UK self-employment rises markedly following the financial crisis
The Count · What the ONS Series Captures and What It Misses
February 2008
WGA strike ends after 100 days; internet residual formula agreed
Organising · Two Guilds Struck in the Same Summer
2010
WeWork founded; the commercial coworking model scales globally
Coworking · Twelve Rooms Where the Work Got Done
2010
WeWork incorporated in New York
Coworking · The Valuation That Required a Different Definition of Real Estate
February 2010
Fiverr launches with a universal five-dollar price point
The Trade · Everything for Five Dollars, Until It Wasn't
2011
Pimlico terminates Gary Smith's arrangement following his heart attack
Classification · The Plumber Who Made It to the Supreme Court
2012
IWGB registered as an independent trade union with the UK Certification Officer
Organising · The Cleaners Who Started Their Own Union
2013
Partnership with platform companies on Freelancing in America survey
Organising · Somebody Had to Insure the Freelancers
2013
PCG rebrands as IPSE (Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed)
Organising · A Lobby Group Built Around One Tax Rule
December 2013
Elance–oDesk merger announced
The Trade · Two Platforms Merged and Called the Result Something New
2014
Freelancers Insurance Company winds down its health plan after ACA exchanges open
Organising · Somebody Had to Insure the Freelancers
May 2015
merged entity rebranded as Upwork
The Trade · Two Platforms Merged and Called the Result Something New
2016
McKinsey Global Institute independent work report published
The Count · Twelve Years When Nobody Counted
2016
Regus parent rebrands as IWG (International Workplace Group)
Coworking · Before Coworking, There Was the Serviced Office
2016 onward
IWG launches/acquires brands targeting coworking demographic, including Spaces
Coworking · Before Coworking, There Was the Serviced Office
October 2016
Employment Tribunal (Judge Snelson): drivers are workers
Classification · Seven Judges, Two Drivers, and the Question of Who Works for Uber
2017
Supplement returns; results show no dramatic growth in contingent share
The Count · Twelve Years When Nobody Counted
2017
Off-payroll rules extended to the public sector
Organising · A Lobby Group Built Around One Tax Rule
2017
Off-payroll rules extended to public-sector engagements; determination responsibility shifts to client
Classification · IR35 and the Twenty-Five Years Nobody Settled It
2017
IWGB application for statutory recognition in the cycle courier sector
Organising · The Cleaners Who Started Their Own Union
2017 / 2021
off-payroll rule reforms put IR35 status determination on the organisations engaging contractors, sharpening the policy relevance of the own-account count
The Count · What the ONS Series Captures and What It Misses
November 2017
Employment Appeal Tribunal: Uber's appeal dismissed
Classification · Seven Judges, Two Drivers, and the Question of Who Works for Uber
2018
California Supreme Court's Dynamex decision formulates ABC test
The Count · Twelve Years When Nobody Counted
2018
Upwork IPO on Nasdaq; S-1 filed with SEC
The Trade · Two Platforms Merged and Called the Result Something New
2018 (June)
UK Supreme Court delivers unanimous judgment: Smith is a worker
Classification · The Plumber Who Made It to the Supreme Court
April 2018
California Supreme Court decides Dynamex, establishing the ABC test
Classification · The Law the Platforms Bought Back
April 2018
California Supreme Court decides Dynamex Operations West v. Superior Court, establishing the ABC test
Classification · The Three-Part Test That Rewrote California
December 2018
Court of Appeal: majority upholds worker status
Classification · Seven Judges, Two Drivers, and the Question of Who Works for Uber
14 August 2019
S-1 filed with the SEC
Coworking · The Valuation That Required a Different Definition of Real Estate
18 September 2019
Governor Newsom signs AB5 into law
Classification · The Law the Platforms Bought Back
2019
NWU launches Freelance Solidarity Project targeting digital media workers
Organising · Two Organisations for Writers Who Were Never Employees
24 September 2019
Adam Neumann resigns; IPO withdrawn
Coworking · The Valuation That Required a Different Definition of Real Estate
January 2019
SoftBank investment round implies $47 billion valuation
Coworking · The Valuation That Required a Different Definition of Real Estate
May 2019
S-1 filed with the Israel Securities Authority
The Trade · Everything for Five Dollars, Until It Wasn't
October 2019
SoftBank rescue package; valuation reset to ~$8 billion
Coworking · The Valuation That Required a Different Definition of Real Estate
September 2019
AB5 signed, codifying Dynamex into the Labor Code and Unemployment Insurance Code
Classification · The Three-Part Test That Rewrote California
2020–21
Pandemic drives lease renegotiations across the portfolio
Coworking · The Valuation That Required a Different Definition of Real Estate
3 November 2020
Proposition 22 passes, approximately 58% in favour
Classification · The Law the Platforms Bought Back
July 2020
UK Supreme Court hears argument
Classification · Seven Judges, Two Drivers, and the Question of Who Works for Uber
November 2020
Proposition 22 passes with 58% of vote, exempting app-based platforms
Classification · The Three-Part Test That Rewrote California
Post-2020
ONS begins publishing remote-work breakdowns that do not yet cross-tabulate cleanly with self-employment status
The Count · What the ONS Series Captures and What It Misses
September 2020
AB 2257 signed, amending freelance and creative-worker provisions of AB5
Classification · The Three-Part Test That Rewrote California
2021
Alameda County Superior Court strikes down Proposition 22
Classification · The Three-Part Test That Rewrote California
2021
Off-payroll rules extended to the private sector; IPSE leads parliamentary opposition
Organising · A Lobby Group Built Around One Tax Rule
2021
Off-payroll rules extended to medium and large private-sector businesses under Finance Act 2020
Classification · IR35 and the Twenty-Five Years Nobody Settled It
2021 (February)
Uber BV v Aslam extends the same reasoning to app-based drivers
Classification · The Plumber Who Made It to the Supreme Court
August 2021
Judge Roesch rules Proposition 22 unconstitutional
Classification · The Law the Platforms Bought Back
December 2021
European Commission publishes draft Platform Work Directive
Classification · What Brussels Agreed After Nearly Three Years of Arguing
February 2021
Unanimous Supreme Court judgment: Uber BV v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5
Classification · Seven Judges, Two Drivers, and the Question of Who Works for Uber
January 2021
SEIU and gig workers file suit in Alameda County Superior Court
Classification · The Law the Platforms Bought Back
March 2021
Uber announces reclassification of ~70,000 UK drivers as workers
Classification · Seven Judges, Two Drivers, and the Question of Who Works for Uber
2022
European Parliament Employment Committee adopts its position
Classification · What Brussels Agreed After Nearly Three Years of Arguing
2023
California Court of Appeal reverses that ruling; case proceeds to California Supreme Court
Classification · The Three-Part Test That Rewrote California
2023
SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes; streaming residuals again the central issue
Organising · The Guilds Had This Argument in the 1930s
6 November 2023
WeWork files Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New Jersey
Coworking · The Valuation That Required a Different Definition of Real Estate
December 2023
First Council qualified-majority attempt fails; France withholds support
Classification · What Brussels Agreed After Nearly Three Years of Arguing
July 2023
SAG-AFTRA joins the strike; first dual stoppage since 1960
Organising · Two Guilds Struck in the Same Summer
March 2023
First District Court of Appeal reverses, largely upholding Proposition 22
Classification · The Law the Platforms Bought Back
May 2023
WGA strikes again over streaming residuals and AI
Organising · Two Guilds Struck in the Same Summer
2024
EU Platform Work Directive adopted, introducing rebuttable presumption for platform workers
Classification · IR35 and the Twenty-Five Years Nobody Settled It
Early 2024
Revised Council position circulated, criteria reworded
Classification · What Brussels Agreed After Nearly Three Years of Arguing
October 2024
Council formally adopts the directive
Classification · What Brussels Agreed After Nearly Three Years of Arguing
~2026
Member-state implementation deadline (two years from Official Journal publication)
Classification · What Brussels Agreed After Nearly Three Years of Arguing
The files that carry the most dates
Four pieces where the sequence is the argument.
Twelve Years When Nobody Counted
When the Bureau of Labor Statistics stopped running its Contingent Worker Supplement in 2005, the silence it left behind shaped a decade of policy argument as surely as any figure it might have published.
The Valuation That Required a Different Definition of Real Estate
WeWork invented a metric to justify its price, and the market took eighteen months to stop believing it
The Three-Part Test That Rewrote California
A 2018 state supreme court ruling distilled decades of misclassification litigation into three sentences — and set off a political war that is still unresolved.
The other sections
Eight landing pages. Every piece is reachable from one of them, or from the archive.