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Work comes in many shapes and sizes. In today's economy, traditional 9-to-5 employment is but one option, and more people are choosing alternatives that better fit their values and lives.
These workers deserve better access to benefits like health insurance and retirement savings.
Over 330,000 Kentuckians earn income as freelancers, contractors or self-employed workers. They include rideshare and delivery drivers, truckers, freelance creatives, child care providers and consultants.
Together, they generate more than $18 billion in annual revenue. This workforce is growing, diverse, and vital to the commonwealth's economy — yet state and federal policies haven't kept pace with that reality.
Flexibility lets independent workers manage their time, earn on their own terms and pursue family, education or creative goals. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 80% of independent workers prefer their current arrangement, and fewer than 9% say they'd rather have a traditional job.
Yet the same independence that draws people to this work can also leave them without a safety net. Surveys show that 81% of self-employed workers want portable benefits solutions.
Unlike traditional employees, independent workers lack access to health coverage or retirement savings, and even when companies want to offer them voluntarily, they're often discouraged or legally prohibited from doing so.
Current labor laws risk classifying such arrangements as "employment," triggering unintended liabilities. As a result, businesses avoid offering help altogether, and workers are left without access to benefits that could make their lives more stable.
That's where portable benefits come in. Portable benefits travel with workers as they move between jobs, clients or gigs. Rather than being tied to an employer, these benefits would be linked to the individual.
Imagine a system where a trucker, freelancer or child care provider receives contributions from the companies or clients they work with— funds that accumulate in a benefits account they carry throughout their career.
This idea preserves what makes independent work appealing while expanding access to financial security. Kentucky could lead by allowing voluntary portable benefits arrangements where businesses can provide benefits to contractors without fear of triggering employment reclassification.
Momentum for portable benefits is building nationwide. States like Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Utah have advanced proposals to allow companies to voluntarily contribute to benefits for independent workers.
Lawmakers in red and blue states recognize that portable benefits are not a partisan issue — they're a practical one. At the federal level, members of Congress in both chambers have introduced legislation to create a legal safe harbor for these arrangements.
What's remarkable is that many workers aren't asking for handouts or government mandates. They're asking for a way to participate in modern systems of security while keeping the independence they value — and portable benefits meet that need.
Policymakers have an opportunity to take a human-centered approach to labor law, recognizing that the old model of a single employer providing lifelong benefits no longer fits how people work today. Instead of forcing everyone into the same employment box, Kentucky can allow businesses to experiment with voluntary benefits programs.
Kentucky's independent workers span every corner of the economy — from construction and transportation to health care, retail and the arts.
They are the contractors building homes, the drivers keeping supply chains running, and the stylists, caregivers and consultants serving local communities.
Independent work isn't going away; if anything, it's expanding. Kentucky can either cling to outdated rules that punish flexibility or embrace reforms that make work more inclusive, secure and adaptable.
Lifting legal barriers to voluntary portable benefits would mean that independence and security don't have to be at odds. They can, and should, go hand in hand.
This piece originally appeared in Louisville Business First.
