Health-Care Worker Job Status Proposal Scuttled in California

A proposed California ballot initiative that would have cleared the way for health-care workers to be independent contractors under the state’s rigid worker classification law has been withdrawn.

The proposal would have benefited the burgeoning industry of app-based companies offering flexible options for nurses and home health aides who don’t fall into the traditional employment model for the staffing agencies. The group Californians for Equitable Health Care Access proposed the initiative amid labor shortages and burnout from Covid-19 in the health-care industry.

It mirrored the push from app-based delivery and rideshare giants Uber Technologies Inc., Lyft Inc., and ...