Will California make it tougher to classify people as independent contractors? Democratic candidates take notice

California AB 5 aims to make it more difficult for companies to classify workers in the so-called gig economy as independent contractors. The bill is currently stalled in the state senate. This week, ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft proposed spending tens of millions of dollars to improve working conditions for their drivers. But this may fall short of what union-supporting legislators want.

The bill could end up on the ballot next November. Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Kamala Harris have endorsed it.