"The Gig Economy’s False Promise", 10 Apr 2017

The promises Silicon Valley makes about the gig economy can sound appealing. Its digital technology lets workers become entrepreneurs...In reality, there is no utopia at companies like Uber, Lyft, Instacart and Handy, whose workers are often manipulated into working long hours for low wages…Gig economy workers tend to be poorer and are more likely to be minorities than the population at large, a survey by the Pew Research Center found last year… Since workers for most gig economy companies are considered independent contractors, not employees, they do not qualify for basic protections like overtime pay and minimum wage…Increasingly workers, and government agencies are pushing back... Lyft recently agreed to pay $27 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by drivers in California...Legislation and lawsuits might ensure that traditional labor laws are applied to the gig economy. But a few smaller companies… are taking steps on their own, by treating workers as employees. They say that this lowers turnover and improves the quality of their services. Over time even bigger companies like Uber…might find that it pays to treat workers better…