Your Support for Preserving the Direct Seller Independence Act
Technological advances have transformed the consumer experience, and a few taps on a smartphone app can make all manner of daily responsibility faster, easier and often more affordable.
There’s no doubt about it: while tech has ushered in a revolution in the delivery of goods and services, it has simultaneously altered and expanded opportunities for a brand new generation of people yearning to work independently and on their own terms.
As direct sellers, we are America’s original entrepreneurs. More than a century of experience brings us the knowledge that working independently is something anyone can achieve. Direct selling empowers individuals to choose when and how much we work. Customers are engaged when we choose to do so, and when we believe they might want to learn more about what we have to offer.
Our hopes for what can be achieved from our businesses are guided by the decisions we make for how to operate our businesses. Working full-time, or only a few hours a week, is the decision we can make daily and with input from our families.
Since 2009, technology has accelerated at an unrivaled pace and has introduced new variety of platforms that are transforming the concept of independent work. Congress has recognized federal labor laws that haven’t been updated since the 1930s as being outdated. As a result, it is seeking to update these statutes. But in doing so, legislators are coming to recognize that all independent work is not created equally.
For more than thirty-five years, the Internal Revenue Service Code has recognized direct selling’s independence as statutory nonemployees. This statute was the result of a herculean effort by DSA staff and members working with Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill. The statute has been a vital part of the business model’s personality since the early 1980s.
As the workforce continues to undergo sweeping changes, DSA is working to make clear that the business relationship direct selling companies and salesforce members have enjoyed decades before the internet and smartphones is protected.
This is why I call on direct sellers everywhere to join in support of Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) for their leadership introducing H.R. 3522, the Preserving the Direct Seller Independence Act, legislation that ensures the protection of a business that has provided supplemental income earning opportunities to generations of Americans.
The Preserving the Direct Seller Independence Act makes the position of direct selling clear in these conversations about the workforce of the future clear so that authentically independent workforce and a vibrant retail channel can continue to thrive.
