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Crosscurrents

Why labor law is slow to adapt to the gig economy

by Aaron Parecki // used under CC BY 2.0
Uber Protest (Portland)

Freelancing is an old concept, but disputes are cropping up left and right between gig workers and the companies that hire them.

Policymakers are intervening, but their legal solutions will take years to enact. A new bill in California would allow gig workers to bargain collectively, but legislators won’t vote on it until next year. Uber and Lyft drivers were set back last week when courts ruled that they cannot file class-action lawsuits, because drivers signed an arbitration agreement when they were hired.

William B. Gould IV: They don't have the basic protections. If you're discriminated against because of race or sex, too bad, cause you're not an employee.

To find out why the law is so slow to adapt, KALW’sHana Baba talked to William B. Gould IV, a Stanford law professor emeritus and the former chairman of the National Labor Relations Board.

Crosscurrents