Headline Roundup • October 12th, 2022
How New Proposed Gig Worker Rules May Affect the Economy
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Key Facts: The Biden administration is proposing a new rule that could re-classify millions of gig workers as employees rather than independent contractors, and it's expected to be implemented next year.
Key Quotes: “While independent contractors have an important role in our economy, we have seen in many cases that employers misclassify their employees as independent contractors, particularly among our nation’s most vulnerable workers,” said Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh in an interview with Reuters.
For Context: The proposed rules could allow these independent contractors to receive more benefits, more protections, and better pay. It could also have negative financial consequences on small businesses that are already struggling with a persistent labor shortage and the highest inflation in four decades.
How the Media Covered It: Right-rated sources noted how the proposed rules could result in payroll cuts and hiring freezes among small businesses. Left-rated sources focused more on the fact that gig workers are often denied minimum wage and benefits.
The Good News: A new program in New York City will convert vacant newsstands into "rest hubs" for the city's 65,000 delivery workers.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Noam Galai/Getty Images
The Biden administration has proposed a new rule that could re-classify millions of gig workers as employees, a move that could deal a significant blow to small businesses across the country.
The Labor Department on Tuesday unveiled a new proposal that would make it more difficult for companies to classify their workers as independent contractors — a change that could have major consequences for ride-hailing, delivery and other industries that depend heavily on gig workers.
Companies are required to provide certain benefits and legal protections to employees but not contractors, making employment...
REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
After weeks of lobbying the White House on how gig workers should be treated, the rideshare, delivery and retail industries are bracing for a new rule that is likely to make it easier to classify them as employees, multiple sources say. A proposed rule from the Department of Labor, aimed at defining whether gig workers for companies including Uber (UBER.N), Lyft (LYFT.O), DoorDash (DASH.N) and retailers such as Amazon.com Inc are misidentified as independent contractors, is under review at the White House's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) and is expected to be...
The Biden administration proposed new standards Tuesday that could make it more difficult to classify millions of workers as independent contractors and deny them minimum wage and benefits.
The U.S. Department of Labor rule, which could take months to take effect, would replace a scrapped Trump-era standard that had lowered the bar for classifying employees as contractors, workers who are not covered by federal minimum wage laws and are not entitled to benefits including health insurance and paid sick days.
The reaction in markets for major gig companies was immediate....
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