Comment from Lisa Frumkes

I support the proposed rule, as it will help harmonize and clarify federal regulations regarding the classification of Independent Contractors. The language industry provides more than 160 million telephonic interpreting encounters per year in health care alone, making vital, lifesaving medical care accessible to more than 70 million Americans who speak a language other than English. They support the Intelligence Community, domestic law enforcement, and the Department of Defense by providing interpreters and translators to a myriad of federal agencies.

They do this with a workforce that is 80% freelance, and has been so for more than 70 years. And the compensation they provide to our professional, educated, and middle-class workforce is well above the average annual income in the US. The median earnings of translators, according to the American Translators Association, is more than $80,000 per year. Finally, repeated third-party surveys of the workforce indicate that an overwhelming majority prefer the flexibility and freedom of being Independent Contractors.

Comment ID: WHD-2020-0007-1590 | 26-Oct-20

Categorized under Flexibility, Health

Read the whole comment on Regulations.gov