In 2018 the California Supreme Court adopted a test for how to classify gig workers. The Dynamex decision stated that workers are presumed to be employees unless the employer can prove that the worker is free from its control and direction, the work is outside the company’s usual business, and the worker often works as a freelancer. These criteria, commonly referred to as the ABC test, still don’t provide conclusive guidance about how gig workers should be classified. But negotiations reportedly underway in California between ride-hailing companies, labor unions, regulators, and other stakeholders might be more clarifying.
The Debate Over How to Classify Gig Workers Is Missing the Bigger Picture
Protections and benefits shouldn’t be based on employment status alone.
July 24, 2019
Henrik Sorensen/Getty Images
Summary.
There is widespread debate over how to classify gig workers. But negotiations reportedly underway in California, between ride-hailing companies, labor unions, regulators, and other stakeholders, might help clarify things. If they can agree on how to offer workers enough protections as well as the flexibility of being independent contractors, this will be a new era for multisided platform services — allowing these services to remain competitive while also achieving the goals of fairness for gig workers. The negotiations offer an opportunity to reconsider the purpose and goals of employment and labor protections, and how to modernize them to fit with the realities of work today.