About / Summary
Opolis is a ‘digital employment cooperative’ that gives independent workers (freelancers, gig workers, solopreneurs, DAOists) access to personalized payroll, W2s and healthcare benefits typically reserved for employees of traditional corporations. The cooperative does this by helping independent workers form their own entities, which then allows Opolis to become the official ‘employer of record’ for members’ payroll. Through this process, freelancer entities can now access benefits, payroll and taxation services, and other shared employment services.
Opolis uses $WORK Rewards, an Ethereum-based ERC20 token, to reward Members’ patronage. $WORK Rewards have multiple uses in the community, from staking to enhanced voting power in decision making.
Key Takeaways/Quick Facts
- Opolis currently serves U.S. based independent workers, and will be expanding to Canada on January 1, 2023.
- Opolis operates via the “Employment Commons” which provides services to independent workers and freelancers, and Opolis, Inc., which provides administrative, marketing, and technology services to the Employment Commons and its members.
- Independent workers join Opolis as “Employee Members”, and are co-employed by an entity that they control (for example, an S Corp they own) and the “Employment Commons.”
- Opolis’s optional U.S. benefits include medical, vision, dental, and enhanced term life insurance. Unemployment Insurance, worker’s compensation, short and long-term disability insurance and term life Insurance are required for all Commons members.
- In addition to Employee Members, Opolis has contributing members, called “Coalition Members”, who contribute value to the Opolis Employment Commons in ways other than being an Employee Member, such as: a referral source, a channel partner, a technology contributor, and/or a $WORK Rewards staker.
What it Does / Doesn’t Do
Does:
- Allow freelancers in the U.S. to purchase benefits that are usually not available except through W2 employment.
- Manage payroll and taxation, including access to W2s, for freelancers in 48 U.S. states, in both fiat and whitelisted digital currencies.
- Reward Employee Member patronage via $WORK Rewards tokens, which can entitle them to profit-based dividends as well as governance rights.
- Reward Coalition Members and non-members via $WORK Rewards for referrals, technology and/or services contribution.
Doesn’t:
- Provide benefits to freelancers outside the United States. Note: Opolis expands to Ontario and British Columbia provinces in Canada on January 1, 2023.
- Provide benefits for freelancers who don’t have a business entity set up or make the minimum annual salary wage requirements for the state in which they work.
- Provide governance rights to non-Employee Members (i.e., Coalition Members or non-member holders of $WORK Rewards).
- Allow public or private purchase of $WORK Rewards, or provide profit-based dividends to non-member holders of $WORK Rewards.
- Provide services focused on employers/organizations.
What Sets It Apart
Comprehensive Benefit Plans:
Opolis offers a competitive and comprehensive benefit package including health insurance, disability coverage, and retirement benefits. This comes in a structure that enables freelancers to maintain the freedom and flexibility of independent work while maintaining the financial security of a W2 job.
Payment via Cryptocurrency:
Freelancers who work through Opolis can elect to receive payment via whitelisted digital currencies, regardless of:
1. The organizations for which they are performing work
2. The organizations’ payment policies.
This creates a bridge for independent workers to operate from the world of web3 while working with traditional corporations and organizations.
Taxation Handling:
Freelancers experience burdensome quarterly tax withholding calculations and associated administrative and payment responsibilities as significant pain points in the course of doing business. Managing digital currency-based payments multiplies the effort required in this area. Opolis solves this for its Employee Members by managing these aspects on their behalf, enabling them to focus on their work without the distraction of tax withholding and compliance.
Stakeholder Governance:
Employee Members who work within and through Opolis hold the power to steer and grow the organization through $WORK Rewards. While non-employee Coalition Members can benefit economically from $WORK Rewards, they do not have an avenue to gain voting rights. This “stakeholder capitalism” approach ensures that the best interests of all sides in the Opolis ecosystem are best served–not just those of economic shareholders as in the capitalism structure followed by traditional corporations.
Economic Incentivization:
Both Employee Members and Coalition Members are included in the $WORK Rewards program. Through this program, profits/dividends may be available for distribution as a reward for Members’ patronage, as measured by their accumulated $WORK.
Who Uses It
Gitcoin
Maker
Polygon
NEAR
Learn More
- URL: https://opolis.co/
- FAQ: https://opolis.co/faq/
- $WORK Rewards: https://opolis.co/rewards/
- Tokenomics Whitepaper: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YzkD9wtPLFB38xLSbySkQVWiwOkgk_5Hg61fRpdTDl8/edit
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/opolis
- Discord: https://discord.com/invite/p9FQHYhxcM
