Many Freelancers Don't Get Paid on Time. This California Bill Aims to Fix That

One of photographer Amanda Hibbert’s clients never paid her for a completed job. Writer Elizabeth Aaron once waited nearly two years for full payment.

They are among the hundreds of thousands of freelancers in California with little recourse to fix a recurring problem: late — or no — compensation for their work. A state bill would change that by offering graphic designers, artists, videographers and other professional freelance workers some of the protections that payroll employees command.

Under the proposed legislation, state labor authorities or prosecutors could go after employers who don’t pay freelancers by the date outlined in a contract or within 30 days of completing a job. The legislation, SB 998, would not cover gig workers such as app-based drivers.

Nobody knows exactly how many people do creative, technical or other freelance jobs. However, the freelancing workforce is growing, and many face long delays in getting paid. California’s proposal requiring timely compensation comes as other states and cities have implemented similar safeguards.

“This bill is about basic fairness,” Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), the legislation’s author, said. “We are looking to make sure that freelancers are treated fairly, that they get paid, and that they get paid in a timely manner.”

About 64 million Americans freelanced last year, according to research by Upwork, an employment platform. However, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates closer to 10 million people were self-employed in 2023, including freelancers and gig workers. Nearly 30% of these workers live in California, Texas and New York, the bureau’s figures show.

New York City was the first to enact a timely payment law covering freelance workers in 2017. By 2023, the city had helped hundreds recover $2.9 million. Los Angeles put similar freelancer protections into effect in July 2023, and earlier this year New York state and Illinois enacted similar laws.

Meredith Tannor, a policy director with the Freelancers Union, said that at least 74% of the union’s 750,000 members had experienced delayed payments. Most of their members are in California and New York, she said.

Hibbert, who lives in San Francisco, said some clients took over three months to pay for photo shoots, which forced her to dip into savings to cover rent for her work studio and other expenses to keep her one-woman business afloat. Hibbert, who has worked in the industry for 14 years, said a small fashion company abruptly canceled and refused to pay the $3,000 cancellation fee the signed contract stipulated.

“Almost everyone has a story of either an incredibly late payment by a client or potentially not getting paid ever,” said Hibbert, the treasurer of the San Francisco chapter of American Photographic Artists, an association that advocates for professional photographers. “And there is no recourse.”

In California, the Labor Commissioner’s Office enforces labor pay laws and helps workers collect owed wages. However, the agency lacks jurisdiction over most independent contractors, including freelancers. Those workers may hire an attorney and sue clients to try to collect their money, but that’s too expensive and time-consuming for many.

SB 988 would allow the labor commissioner or a prosecutor to seek monetary retribution for aggrieved freelancers, including damages up to twice the amount owed at the time payment was due. The bill, which lawmakers must approve by Aug. 31 to send to the governor’s desk, would also require written contracts for freelancer services worth $250 or more over four months.

The California Chamber of Commerce initially opposed the measure over concerns that it would allow freelancers to sue clients frivolously, such as when they had been paid on time but lacked a written contract. After Wiener’s office made amendments, the business advocacy group changed its position to “neutral.”

Still, additional pay regulations could end up hurting the freedom and flexibility freelance workers cherish, said Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-San Diego), one of three Republicans who voted against advancing SB 988 in May.

“Unfortunately, this legislation continues to chip away those opportunities for freelancers and entrepreneurs to make a living to support their families,” Jones said in a statement, adding that he used to work as an independent contractor.

For Aaron, an Oakland-based writer and editor, the measure would compel clients to honor their pay commitments. After she finished a project adapting a story into a film script in February 2020, she had to chase the client for 22 months to fully collect her $3,000 fee, she said.

“It just got to a point where I felt I was being taken advantage of because so much time had passed,” Aaron said. “It was a setback for me, and it was stressful.”

Aaron said she was counting on that money to pay off her credit card debt. The payment delay compounded her financial anxiety at a time when she was losing income because other jobs dried up at the outset of the pandemic. She couldn’t sleep.

She said she testified before the state Assembly Labor and Employment Committee in support of SB 998 in June to help other freelancers avoid galling experiences like hers.

“If there’s a law, then hopefully that saves a lot of time and energy for freelancers from having to fight so hard for what they deserve, for what [the clients] had agreed to,” Aaron said.