A bill that would amend U.S. labour law to establish a new classification for gig workers could also deny them the right to a minimum wage and other employment protections.
The Worker Flexibility and Choice Act would change the Fair Labor Standards Act so ’employee’ doesn’t include anyone who’s entered into a worker-flexibility agreement, such as workers for food delivery services.
Read: Seattle passes measures to address gig worker pay, rights
The bill states workers subject to worker-flexibility agreements would have some employee rights, such as those related to privacy, non-discrimination and safety, plus time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act. However, it doesn’t call for wage and hour protections that employees are entitled to and would supersede any laws on wages for workers in a worker-flexibility agreement, according to a report by MarketWatch.
DoorDash Inc., Uber Technologies Inc. and other companies have been fighting to establish a new employment category that offers gig workers some protections without classifying them as employees.
Read: Uber Canada’s push for gig workers to get benefits facing critiques