Gig Economy Worker Rights

Gig Economy Workers’ Rights Attorney

According to a 2015 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, 40 percent of the workforce now has nontraditional employer-employee jobs and those jobs are disproportionately held by younger, less educated, low-family-income individuals.  Gig economy jobs don’t offer paid sick leave, or vacation days, or parental leave.  They don’t offer worker’s compensation coverage, or health insurance.  There is no protection against illegal discrimination or wage and hour violations.  Gig economy work is terrible for the worker.    

If you have every been a freelancer, temporary worker, contract worker, or picked up gigs with TaskRabbit, Fiverr, Guru, or Elance, or driven for Lyft, Bounce, or Uber, you have been a part of the “gig economy”.  Employers love gig economy workers.  Employers call gig economy workers “independent contractors”. 

Independent Contractor vs. Employee

Unlike employees, independent contractors are not entitled to minimum wage, or overtime, or meal and rest periods.  Independent contracts are not entitled to health benefits, workers’ compensation, or unemployment.  Independent contractors are not protected by the labor code, or laws protecting workers from illegal harassment, discrimination, or retaliation.  Employers have every reason to call workers independent contractors.  Except it’s mostly illegal.

Most California gig economy workers are employees, and not independent contractors.  California employs what we call the ABC test to decide if a gig economy worker is an employee, or an independent contractor.  With a few exceptions, a worker is presumed to be an employee, unless the employer can prove:

A.     The worker is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of the work and in fact.

B.     The worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity's business. For example, when a retail store hires an outside plumber to repair a leak in a bathroom on its premises or hires an outside electrician to install a new electrical line, the services of the plumber or electrician are not part of the store's usual course of business. On the other hand, when a clothing manufacturing company hires work-at-home seamstresses to make dresses from cloth and patterns supplied by the company that will thereafter be sold by the company, or when a bakery hires cake decorators to work on a regular basis on its custom-designed cakes, the workers are part of the hiring entity's usual business operation.

C.     The worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as the work performed for the hiring entity.   

Most companies lose on the “work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity's business” prong. 

Most gig workers are employees.

So, most gig economy workers are employees here in California.  That means that they are entitled to a workplace free from harassment or discrimination on things like age, disability, gender, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation.  They are protected from retaliation for blowing the whistle against unsafe working conditions, or illegal activity.  They are entitled to workers’ compensation.  They are also entitled to things like:

-        At least minimum wage for every hour worked;

-        Paid 10-minute breaks for every 4 hours worked;

-        Unpaid 30-minute breaks for every 5 hours worked;

-        Overtime equal to 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for all hours over 8 in a day;

-        Overtime equal to 2 times their regular rate of pay for all hours hour 12 in a day; and

-        Reimbursement for necessary job-related expenses (i.e your car, if you’re driving or delivering, or your phone if you have to use an app). 

If you work in the gig-economy in California, you have rights.  If those rights are being violated, you need the help of an experienced workers’ rights lawyer.  We represent employees throughout California in harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and wage theft cases.  We take cases on a contingency fee, and we offer a fast, free, confidential employment case-evaluation form.  Contact us today!