Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, STATE LEGISLATION—GEORGIA—Governor signs bill allowing employers to contribute to portable benefits without impacting employment classification, (May 12, 2026)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

Door Dash completed its own portable benefits pilot program in Georgia in 2025.

The Voluntary Portable Benefit Plan Act (HB 987), sponsored by Georgia State Representative Todd Jones (R), was signed into law by Governor Brian P. Kemp yesterday. The law provides for portable benefit plans and portable benefit accounts for independent contractors while excluding voluntary contributions from establishing the classification of employer or employment, thus allowing employers to make contributions without establishing an employer-employee relationship.

HB 987 will allow any person or entity to voluntarily contribute funds to a portable benefit account of an independent contractor. The bill defines a “portable benefit plan” as a plan maintained by an independent contractor that provides various benefits, such as health and unemployment insurance. Voluntary contributions may be made using funds withheld from compensation owed to the independent contractor, provided that the withholding is clearly and expressly outlined in a written agreement. The withholding must be voluntary, require the independent contractor’s opt-in, and allow the independent contractor to opt-out at any time. Additionally, voluntary contributions from a person or entity to an independent contractor will not create an employer-employee relationship.

Door Dash’s pilot. In 2025, Door Dash announced that it had completed a portable benefits pilot program in Georgia, with approximately 5,500 Door Dashers opting into the program. Door Dash declared the pilot a success, citing an “independent analysis” that nevertheless was funded by the delivery service provider. According to Door Dash, about 73 percent of Dashers felt more financially secure after participating in the program, and 91 percent indicated they would feel more secure if the pilot program were made permanent. Nearly 75 percent of Dashers who did not already have access to all the benefits they wanted or needed, gained access to benefits they would not otherwise have thanks to the pilot program, Door Dash claimed, and 84 percent of Dashers said they would prefer the government to continue treating flexible workers as independent contractors, with the allowance of portable benefits.

Second-tier employment concerns. Nevertheless, the Economic Policy Institute and other detractors of “portable benefits” argue that portable benefits proposals generally “serve as a veil for further misclassification by incentivizing employers to default workers to independent contractor status, denying them the rights and benefits offered to employees. By accepting portable benefits as a substitute for traditional employment protections, policymakers legitimize a second-tier employment status that lacks the benefits workers deserve under the law. This approach does not empower workers—it entrenches corporate efforts to cut costs by avoiding responsibility.”

Rep. Jones, who introduced the legislation, applauded its signing, stating, “This legislation provides a commonsense, voluntary framework that gives independent contractors more flexibility and access to meaningful benefits, while maintaining their independent status.”

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