Lawmakers Look to Spruce Up Gig Work Rather Than Replace It

Last week in Washington, the Democratic-controlled U.S. House passed a sweeping labor law overhaul that would make it much easier for gig workers to prove they’re actually employees with full-fledged union rights, rather than contractors as their bosses claim. Two days later in Democratic-ruled Connecticut, state lawmakers met by video conference to consider a less adversarial approach: Creating a special industrywide version of bargaining for gig workers, without making them employees.

“It is clear that these platform apps are here to stay,” state Senator Julie Kushner, a former United Auto Workers regional director who now co-chairs the Connecticut legislature’s Labor and Public Employees Committee, said in an interview. “What’s really important is that we look at, how do we adjust so that we are getting the benefit of the platform, and the approach to work, but also making sure that we are not ignoring workers’ rights in the equation?”