SEPTEMBER 2016

RAISING THE FLOOR FOR

WORKERS IN THE GIG ECONOMY
TOOLS FOR NEW YORK CITY AND BEYOND

Deputy Leader for Policy

Chair, Committee on Rules, Privileges and Elections
District 39, Brooklyn

Acknowledgements
This report was written primarily by Annie Levers, Director of Policy and Budget for New York City
Council Member Brad Lander.
We are grateful for the research of the City Councils Policy and Innovation Division, including Sasha
Ahuja, Theo Moore, and Patrick McClellan, and the legislative drafting work of the Councils Legislative
Division, especially Annie Decker, Kaitlin Caruso, Wesley Jones, Laboni Rahman and Kelly Taylor. That
assistance could not have been provided without the support of New York City Council Speaker Melissa
Mark-Viverito. A special thanks to the offices of Council Members Corey D. Johnson and Stephen T.
Levin.
We also appreciate the partnership of the de Blasio Administration in efforts to support workers and
mend the fissured economy. The NYC Department of Consumer Affairs, NYC Commission on Human
Rights, and the Mayors Office of Intergovernmental Affairs have worked closely with us on the
legislation discussed in this report.
Our thinking on the gig economy, the importance of raising the floor for gig workers, and the
opportunity for cities to play a leading role has been shaped in dialogue with many partners.
Special thanks to the Freelancers Union, especially founder and CEO Sara Horowitz, Caitlin Pearce,
Elizabeth Leathe and Jeanne Silz. Their members made the case persuasively and eloquently about the
need to address freelancer wage theft, at City Hall and in town halls around the city. Their leadership
was essential in developing the Freelance Isnt Free Act.
We are also deeply grateful to the National Employment Law Project (Becki Smith and Catherine
Ruckelshaus) National Domestic Worker Alliance (Irene Jor), New York Taxi Workers Alliance (Bhairavi
Desai), Partnership for Working Families, SEIU 32-BJ (Hector Figueroa and Alison Hirsh), SEIU 775 (David
Rolf), Working Partnerships USA, Trebor Scholz of the New School and Amos Blackman of the EEOC.
There is no uniform way of thinking about these issues even among those who believe strongly in the
right of workers to earn a decent living, to organize, and to have dignity in their work and we are just
at the beginning of developing public policy to respond to the shifts in the economy discussed here.
Nonetheless, we are grateful for the organizing, policy, thought-leadership, and feedback provided by
these organizations. We accept responsibility for our mistakes, and gratitude to those on whose work
we are building.

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary: Raising the Floor ................................................................................................ 3
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 5
Employees, Labor Law & Misclassification .......................................................................................... 8
What rights do employees have (that independent contractors dont)? ................................................ 9
Misclassification ...................................................................................................................................... 10
Who are the Workers in the Gig Economy? ............................................................................................. 12
Key Research Findings on Gig Workers .................................................................................................. 13
Key Issues ................................................................................................................................................... 14
First Steps for New York City: Wage Theft & Discrimination.................................................................... 16
Freelance Isnt Free Act ......................................................................................................................... 16
Extending New York Citys Human Rights Law ...................................................................................... 17
Moving Forward: Toward Benefits and Right-to-Organizing ................................................................... 17
Driver Benefits Fund ............................................................................................................................... 17
New Frameworks for Organizing ............................................................................................................. 19
Mending the Fissured Economy ................................................................................................................ 20
Raising the Floor Across the Country ........................................................................................................ 24
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................. 26
Resources ................................................................................................................................................... 27

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Executive Summary: Raising the Floor

The gig economy has grown dramatically in recent years, in NYC and around the United States.

The percent of workers engaged in the alternative work arrangements that characterize the
gig economy including independent contractors, freelancers, temps, on-call workers, and
contract workers in the United States rose from 10.1 percent in February 2005 to nearly 16
percent in late 2015.

While these arrangements can provide flexibility, convenience, and lower prices, they come with severe
downsides. Many of the workers in the gig economy are denied the rights, protections, and benefits of
traditional employees, making it far more difficult to piece together a decent standard of living.

Most federal and state labor and civil rights laws do not apply to independent contractors.
Employers too often misclassify employees as independent contractors, to avoid legal
obligations and liability.
More than 70 percent of freelancers report being the victim of wage theft or late-payment.
Contingent workers on average earn less than traditional employees, and are more likely to live
in poverty.
They are more likely to be young, Hispanic, and less educated than standard full-time
employees.
Businesses do not provide health care, paid family leave, paid sick days, or retirement
contributions to independent contractors.

Without these protections, American workers and businesses alike will fall behind. While partisan
gridlock hinders action at the state and national levels, local municipalities have the opportunity to act
now. This report explores the key challenges that many gig workers face, including misclassification as
independent contractors, wage-theft and non-payment, discrimination, a lack of access to benefits, and
an inability to organize. Informed by key stakeholders and national best practices, the report then
outlines the ways in which the New York City Council can help lead the way to establish basic
protections for workers in the gig economy:

Working closely with Freelancers Union, the Council can protect independent workers from
wage theft, with the ground-breaking Freelance Isnt Free Act (Intro 1017), which provides a
right to full and timely payment and new tools for enforcement.
We can clarify the application of the NYC Human Rights Law to protect independent and
contingent workers from discrimination (Intro 1016).

Over the longer term:

We can work to provide a portable benefits fund first to drivers in the Taxi and Limousine
Commission that offers benefits (e.g. health care and retirement security) that traditional
employees often receive through their workplace.
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We can aim to establish new frameworks that provide gig-economy workers with the ability to
organize, elect their own representatives, and bargain collectively around the terms and
conditions that determine whether they can make a living where they are otherwise unable to
do so under existing laws.

As these tools are developed, care must be taken not to erode existing benefits and protections for
workers. Government actors and advocates alike are working hard to strengthen, expand and enforce
protections already in place, and to prevent the misclassification of workers as independent contractors.
The recommendations in this report are intended to support and supplement that work to ensure that
all gig workers have the rights, benefits and protections they deserve.

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Introduction
Over the past decade, the gig economy has
grown significantly. Between 2005 and 2015, the
number of people in the alternative work
arrangements that characterize what we
identify as the gig economy including
independent contractors, freelancers, temps, oncall workers, and contract workers increased
nationally by 9.4 million, while the number of
traditional employees actually declined by 0.4
million. The Freelancers Union estimates that
there are 1.3 million freelance workers in New
York City alone.
Much of the media attention has gone to growth
of on-demand or platform-based work models,
like Uber, TaskRabbit and Handy. But despite
their growth, platforms remain a small part of
the sector, estimated at less than 1 percent of all
workers in 2015.1 This report discusses a broader
set of gig workers sometimes referred to as
those with alternative, contingent, precarious or
non-standard jobs. These gig workers include
writers, graphic-designers, web-developers,
personal service and care workers, models,
court-reporters, drivers, home repair
contractors, and more.
A diverse set of trends is driving the shift away
from traditional W-2 employment. In the The
Fissured Workplace: Why Work Became So Bad
for So Many, David Weil describes how
businesses have shed their role as direct
employers, in favor of outsourcing work to small
companies and workers in fierce competition
with one another. This shift has transferred
employment responsibilities to a complicated
network of smaller businesses, contractors,
subcontractors, and temp agencies.

I was owed about $2,500 the

money that I was owed was all the
money I had in the world, and I owed
it for rent and utilities. As the weeks
and months went by, I literally lived
on bread rolls and water, with no
light and no power after I failed to
make utility payments. When I called
repeatedly for a payment update, the
only reply was an automatic out-ofoffice voicemail: the finance
department was on vacation.
Elizabeth MacKenzie
NYC Freelance Film Producer
NYC Council Public Hearing, February 2016

The current model works well for

companies such as Uber since they
save up to 30 percent on labor costs
and shift a lot of the business risk to
drivers. They dont need to pay
healthcare or provide employment
benefits. In the short term, it works
for drivers, but in the long term its
worrying to think that other
companies will take on this
piecemeal business model. I think it
works out better for the companies
than the drivers.
Harry Campbell
Blogger, taxi driver for Uber and Lyft
Reported by The Guardian, November 2015

1 Katz and Krueger The Rise and Nature of Alternative Work Arrangements in the United States, 1995-2015. March 29, 2016.
Retrieved from: https://krueger.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/akrueger/files/katz_krueger_cws_-_march_29_20165.pdf

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Technology has accelerated this process,

enabling companies to contract for and oversee
work electronically, to split work into eversmaller component parts to be performed
across the globe, and more recently allowing
many tasks to be performed on-demand via
platform applications.
This fissuring or splitting off of functions that
were once managed internally has stagnated
wages and benefits and lowered the standard
of living for millions of employees and
independent contractors, alike.
In some cases, freelancers like the flexibility
that the gig economy provides. They are able to
work on a schedule that they choose, and to put
together a portfolio of clients and projects.
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, workers
have more ability to purchase health insurance
affordably outside of traditional workplaces.
Other gig-economy workers, however
especially after the 2008 recession report
that they have been forced to accept temporary
and contract work just to make ends meet.2 The
Freelancers Union estimates that 13.2 million
freelance workers are in fact moonlighters,
suggesting that these traditional employees are
not getting paid enough in their full-time
positions to support themselves or their
families.3 And a recent report from Deloitte
shows that about two-thirds of independent
contractors in America would prefer not to
work a contract job again.4

lack critical protections, rights, benefits and the

ability to organize. Too many workers are falling
through the growing cracks of the fissured
economy.

These companies despite

spending much more on labor than
their competitors do in order to
have a well-paid, well-trained,
well-motivated workforce enjoy
great success.
Many basic rights and protections for U.S.
workers are built around traditional workplace
relationships. For traditional workers (who
should receive an IRS Form W-2 from their
employer, rather than a 1099), federal and state
labor laws provide albeit far from perfectly
minimum wages, maximum hours,
protection against wage theft, wage and hour
laws, workplace safety, and the right to
organize.
Broader efforts to strengthen these protections
are underway across the country, including
increases in the minimum wage (through the
Fight for $15), living wage laws (which require
higher wages and standards from companies
doing business with or subsidized by
government), paid sick days, paid family leave,
and fair scheduling laws.

Regardless of what brought these workers to

the gig economy, there is a dark side: a growing
and diverse set of workers in the U.S. economy

Most labor and employment laws, including

state laws and the National Labor Relations Act
and the Fair Labor Standards Act do not cover

2 Katz and Krueger The Rise and Nature of Alternative

Work Arrangements in the United States, 1995-2015. March
29, 2016. Retrieved from:
https://krueger.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/akrueger/f
iles/katz_krueger_cws_-_march_29_20165.pdf
3 Freelancers Union and Upwork, Freelancing in America:
2015 Retrieved from: https://fu-web-storage-

prod.s3.amazonaws.com/content/filer_public/59/e7/59e70
be1-5730-4db8-919f-1d9b5024f939/survey_2015.pdf
4 Deloitte Evolving Workforce Study 2016, retrieved from:
https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/aboutdeloitte/articles/press-releases/deloitte-survey-workplaceculture-important-to-independent-contractors.html?nc=1

6|Page

independent contractors.5 New York States

labor laws largely do the same.6 So do most
local, state, and federal civil rights laws, which
provide protection against employment
discrimination. Even where laws were intended
to cover contracted relationships, enforcement
of those laws proves difficult outside of
traditional employer-employee relationships.
The IRS reports that employers have
misclassified millions of employees as
independent contractors. Government agencies
and advocates are working hard to address the
issue of misclassification, to ensure workers are
properly classified as employees, where
appropriate. However, many of New York Citys
gig workers are still left vulnerable to wage
theft, discrimination, and unsafe working
conditions. Independent contractors have no
minimum standards for wages, and lack a legal
framework for organizing.
Existing state and federal laws fail to provide
meaningful protections to enable many
freelancers to earn a decent and stable living.
Unfortunately, partisan gridlock in Washington
and Albany makes it unlikely that this will
change in the near future.
The New York City Council aims to support all of
New York Citys workers, whether they are
traditional W2 employees, freelancers,
contingent workers, domestic workers, day
laborers, temps, or interns. We are proud of our
work, in partnership with Mayor Bill de Blasio,
to heal some of the fissures in NYCs economy,
by expanding paid sick days and the living wage
law, raising wages for contracted social service
workers, creating the new Office of Labor Policy
and Standards and the Division of Paid Care to

5 Donovan, Bradley, Shimabukuro What Does the Gig

Economy Mean for Workers? February 5, 2016. Retrieved
from: https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44365.pdf

enforce these laws for all workers, supporting

day labor organizing and worker cooperatives.
The de Blasio Administration has also made
meaningful changes to improve the lives of
NYCs workers, including the provision of paid
time off for maternity, paternity, adoption and
foster care leave for city workers, at 100
percent of salary, and the expansion of paid sick
leave to all businesses with five or more
employees, among other reforms and
initiatives.

A growing and diverse set of

workers in the U.S. economy lack
critical protections, rights, benefits
and the ability to organize.
We hope to also move forward with fair
scheduling legislation, to ensure that shiftworkers can make a decent living and move
toward full-time work if they wish, and that all
workers can seek reasonable schedule
flexibility.
In an era where long-term stable employment
with a single employer has been upended, the
New York City Council is now looking to ensure
that workers not covered by traditional
employment laws have baseline protections,
benefits and the ability to organize.
The New York City Council is therefore leading
the way to establish basic protections for
workers in the gig economy. This report
provides the policy framework for that work.

6 New York State Department of Labor, Employee Laws

known as Labor Standard Retrieved from:
http://www.labor.ny.gov/workerprotection/laborstandards/
labor_standards.shtm

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Employees, Labor Law

& Misclassification
Who is an employee?
In very general terms, a worker is properly classified as an independent contractor if they are in business
for themselves otherwise, the worker should be classified as an employee.7 In practice, different
federal statutes, state law and various common law tests are applied to make this determination. The
tests applied to a particular worker may even result in different outcomes, depending on the statutes in
question. For example, a worker may be deemed to be an employee for the purposes of workers
compensation, but not under federal tax laws.
The IRS uses a 20-factor test called the right to control test, 8 also known as the common law test,
which considers the following factors:

Behavioral: examines whether or not the worker has control over the way in which work gets
done, taking in account the type of instructions given, the degree of instruction, evaluation
systems and training.
Financial: examines whether or not the business has the right to control the economic aspects
of the workers job, including significant investments, unreimbursed expenses, opportunity for
profit or loss, services available to the market and method of payment.
Type of Relationship: examines how the worker and business perceive their relationship to one
another, taking in account any written contracts, employee benefits, the permanency of the
relationship, and services provided as key activity of the business.

U.S. Department of Labor The Application of the Fair Labor Standards Act July 15, 2015, Retrieved from:
https://www.dol.gov/whd/workers/misclassification/ai-2015_1.htm
8 IRS Independent Contractor (self-employed) or Employee? Retrieved from: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businessesself-employed/independent-contractor-self-employed-or-employee

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What rights do employees have (that independent contractors dont)?

The National Labor Relations Act guarantees basic rights for employees to organize into unions, engage in
collective bargaining and take collective action. The law exempts independent contractors from these rights
altogether. In practice, the National Labor Relations Board, an independent agency of the U.S. government
charged with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices for employees, applies a right to control test
very similar to that of the IRS.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage, overtime pay eligibility, record keeping and
child labor standards for employees. The FLSA defines employees as workers who are economically
dependent on the business of the employer, regardless of skill level. Independent contractors, on the other
hand, are workers with economic independence who are in business for themselves. The U.S. Department of
Labor uses an economic reality test to determine whether or not a worker is an employee, stressing seven
factors that the Supreme Court has considered significant including the extent to which the services
rendered are an integral part of the business, the permanency of the business, the amount the worker has
invested in facilities and equipment, the nature and degree of control, opportunities for profit and loss, the
degree of independent judgment in open-market competition, and the degree of independent business
organization and operation.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination against employees based on race, color, religion, sex
and national origin. This critical employment protection exempts independent contractors. In enforcing this
law, the EEOC examines at least 16 factors in determining a workers status, including the workers level of
skill, where the work is performed, the workers ability to delegate, and whether or not the worker is
considered an employee by the IRS.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles certain employees of covered employers to take unpaid,
job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons. FMLA generally relies on the FLSAs definition of
employee, exempting those who do not follow the usual path of an employee and is not dependent on the
business which he or she services.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act is the primary law that ensures safe and healthy working conditions
for private and public sector employees. It ensures workers are not exposed to hazards including toxic
chemicals, excessive noise levels, mechanical dangers or unsanitary conditions. This law exempts
independent contractors. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which enforces these
safety standards, looks at a broad set of factors in determining the status of a worker, focused primarily on
determining who controls the work environment.
State Laws: States have many employment and labor law protections, including anti-discrimination law,
unemployment compensation, workers compensation, wage and hour laws, family and medical leave, and
required leaves of absence. State worker protections can be more protective than federal standards, which
establish a baseline minimum.
Local Laws: In some states, cities can pass laws which are stronger than existing state and federal laws. In
other states, municipalities face more challenging pre-emption issues. Within this framework, cities around
the country are experimenting with stronger worker protections and higher minimum wages. One area in
which municipalities generally have flexibility is local human rights laws, which can be extended to all
workers, regardless of their status or determination under state and federal law.

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Misclassification
Misclassification takes place when employers
improperly characterize employees as
independent contractors, to avoid legal
obligations and liability. According to the IRS,
employers have misclassified millions of
workers as independent contractors. 9
Misclassification occurs across all industries, but
is particularly high in construction, janitorial,
services, home care, delivery and trucking. The
Fiscal Policy Institute estimated that 50,000
(one in four) workers were misclassified by
construction companies in New York. Workers
who are misclassified are denied critical labor
protections, benefits (e.g. health care,
retirement contributions, paid time off),
unemployment insurance and tax contributions.
Misclassification also leads to the loss of billions
of dollars of revenue in evaded local, state and
federal taxes and employer contributions.10
Federal and state governments have taken
steps to combat misclassification of workers.
The IRS audits employers to identify unreported
taxes stemming from misclassification. The U.S.
Department of Labor has funded enhanced
federal enforcement programs and grants to
assist states in their efforts to combat employee
misclassification. Twenty-seven states including
California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey and
Wisconsin (but not New York State) have
passed laws creating presumptive employee
status, putting the burden on the employer to

9 Employers Do Not Always Follow Internal Revenue

Service Worker Determination Rulings. Treasury Inspector
General for Tax Administration, June 14, 2013. Retrieved
from:
http://www.treasury.gov/tigta/auditreports/2013reports/20
1330058fr.pdf
10 Leberstein, Sarah. Independent Contractor
Misclassification imposes huge costs on workers and federal
and state treasuries July 22, 2015. NELP. Retrieved from:
http://www.nelp.org/publication/independent-contractormisclassification-imposes-huge-costs-on-workers-andfederal-and-state-treasuries/

prove that their workers are genuinely

independent.
Because misclassification is an issue of state and
federal law, cities generally cannot legislate in
this area. However, the new Office of Labor
Policy and Standards at the NYC Department of
Consumer Affairs following the model of
similar offices in Seattle and San Francisco
could provide outreach and information to
vulnerable workers, helping to make them
aware of their rights and the avenues for
seeking redress.
The New York City Council recently passed a bill
that will create a Division of Paid Care within
that office, focusing on home care and day care
workers. The division will conduct public
outreach campaigns to inform paid care
workers of their rights and research on
employer compliance, working conditions and
market standards.11
Misclassification can also be challenged in
court, by federal and state agencies, and
workers themselves. In 2015, the California
Labor Commissioner ruled that a former San
Francisco-based Uber driver was an employee,
not an independent contractor. Similar
decisions and settlements were recently
reached in Oregon and Alaska.12 While the
California decision resulted in $4,000 in
reimbursed expenses, it did not apply to other

11 Intro 1084-2016, retrieved from:

http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2
576392&GUID=632A3331-9DC6-4348-ADB6AD9FFF5F03A7
12 Bureau of Labor and Industries of the State of Oregon,
Regarding the Employment Status of Uber Drivers October
14, 2015. Retrieved from:
http://uberlawsuit.com/Oregon.pdf. State of Alaska,
Department of Labor and Workforce Development Uber
Agrees to Stop Worker Misclassification in Alaska
September 3, 2015.
http://labor.alaska.gov/news/2015/news15-38.pdf

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Uber drivers and therefore did not resolve the

broader question of worker status.
In June 2016, the New York Taxi Workers
Alliance (NYTWA) brought a lawsuit on behalf of
ten drivers and a class alleging that Uber has
misclassified them as independent contractors,
and that they should instead be treated as
employees given Ubers ability to determine the
terms and conditions of work. The lawsuit was
filed in June 2016 and is currently pending in
the Southern District Court of New York.13 The
NYTWA has also filed charges at the National
Labor Relations Board (NLRB) challenging Uber's

New York Taxi Workers Alliance et al v. Uber

Technologies, Inc. et al. Retrieved from:
https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/11615169/New
_York_Taxi_Workers_Alliance_et_al_v_Uber_Technologie
s,_Inc_et_al
13

misclassification of its drivers and its mandatory

arbitration clause as unfair labor practices. In
addition, NYTWA has challenged the New York
State Department of Labor's (NYS DOL) failure
to process unemployment applications for Uber
drivers, bringing a federal lawsuit against the
NYS DOL to ensure compliance with the Social
Security Act and the Equal Protection Clause of
the Constitution.14

Politico With position unclear on Uber unemployment,

Cuomos office faces federal lawsuit July 28, 2016.
Retrieved from: www.politico.com/state/newyork/albany/story/2016/07/hesitant-to-opine-on-uberunemployment-claims-cuomo-administration-faces-federallawsuit-104292
14

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Who are the Workers in the Gig Economy?

Given the gig economys diversity and rapidly changing nature, there is no clear or uniform definition for
what it means to be a gig worker. Adding to the challenge of identifying and understanding this group of
workers is the lack of reliable and consistent data. Prior to 2005, the Bureau of Labor Statistics
supplemented its monthly Current Population Survey with a survey on contingent work, known as the
Contingent Work Supplement (CWS). The Bush Administration discontinued this supplemental survey in
2005. In May 2017, the Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics will revive that tool, but until then,
policymakers and researchers must rely on other sources of data and a disparate set of definitions to
inform their work. Two helpful resources on this topic include:
1. The U.S. Government Accountability Offices Contingent
Workforce: Size, Characteristics, Earnings and Benefits study,
conducted between February 2014 and April 2015, analyzed
a broad set of publicly available data sources, including the
CWS, the Current Population Survey, the General Social
Survey and the Survey of Income and Program Participation
to assess the size and key characteristics of the contingent
work population. Using regression analyses and controlling
for externalities, this study found that size of the contingent
workforce ranges from less than 5 percent to more than a
third of the total employed labor force, depending on what
definition is chosen.15

The data demonstrates

that the gig economy offers
lower wages than
traditional employment,
and that in many cases, gig
workers are low-income,
people of color.

2. In The Rise and Nature of Alternative Work Arrangements, researchers Lawrence Katz and Alan B.
Krueger of Harvard and Princeton Universities respectively, recreated the CWS survey, alongside the
RAND American Life Panel in October and November of 2015 to identify how the size of the
contingent worker population has changed over time. Katz and Kruegers random sample of over
3,800 workers revealed that the contingent work population has grown significantly, and represents
all of the United States job growth since 2005.16
The key findings from these reports are highlighted in Table 1. While these studies depend on various
definitions and data sources, key findings confirm that the gig economy employs millions of Americans
and is growing far faster than traditional employment. The data also demonstrates that the gig economy
offers lower wages than traditional employment, and that in many cases, gig workers are low-income,
people of color.

U.S. Government Accountability Office, Contingent Workforce: Size, Characteristics, Earning, and Benefits April 2015,
Retrieved from: http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/669899.pdf
16 Katz and Krueger The Rise and Nature of Alternative Work Arrangements in the United States, 1995-2015. March 29, 2016.
Retrieved from: https://krueger.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/akrueger/files/katz_krueger_cws_-_march_29_20165.pdf
15

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Table 1: Key Research Findings on Gig Workers

Source
Katz and Krueger,
The Rise and
Nature of
Alternative Work
Arrangements in
the United States
(March 2016)

Definition of gig workers

This study defined
alternative work
arrangements as:
Temporary help agency
workers
on-call workers
contract workers
independent contractors
or freelancers

Data findings
The percent of workers engaged in alternative work
arrangements in the United States rose from 10.1 percent in
February 2005 to nearly 16 percent in late 2015.
A striking implication of these estimates is that all of the net
employment growth in the U.S. economy from 2005 to
2015 appears to have occurred in alternative work
arrangements. The number of Americans in alternative
work arrangements increased nationally by 9.4 million,
while the number of traditional employees actually declined
by 0.4 million.
The percentage of workers hired out through contract
companies showed the sharpest increase, rising from 0.6
percent in 2005 to 3.1 percent in 2015.

Katz and Krueger,

The Rise and
Nature of
Alternative Work
Arrangements in
the United States
(March 2016)

This study defined OnDemand workers, as

people who work through
an online intermediary such
as Uber or Task Rabbit

About 0.5 percent of workers indicate that they are

employed through online intermediaries.

U.S. Government
Accountability
Office, Contingent
Workforce: Size,
Characteristics,
Earnings, and
Benefits
(April 2015)

This study defines core

contingent workers as
workers who lack job
security and often have
variable, unpredictable work
schedules. Includes:
agency temps
direct-hire temps
on-call workers
day laborers

These workers represent about 7.9 percent of employed

workers in 2010.

U.S. Government
Accountability
Office, Contingent
Workforce: Size,
Characteristics,
Earnings, and
Benefits
(April 2015)

This study defines a broader

group of contingent
workers as:
agency temps
direct-hire temps
on-call workers
day laborers
standard part time
workers
self-employed individuals
independent contractors

This group represents 40.4 percent of the workforce in

2010.

While these companies (and number of users) are growing

very rapidly, the online gig workforce is relatively small
compared to other forms of alternative work arrangements.

They are more likely to be younger, more often Hispanic,

and less educated compared to standard full-time workers.
The proportion that reported they had not completed high
school was almost double that of standard full-time
workers.

Contingent workers are more likely to report living in

poverty than traditional employees.
These workers are making 10.6 percent less per hour than
standard workers, 28 percent less per week, and 47 percent
less per year than regular workers. This wage disparity
worsens significantly in the education, transportation, and
material moving occupations.
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Key Issues
With the growth of the gig economy, more and more workers lack the baseline legal protections,
benefits and organizing framework provided to traditional employees. This weak regulatory framework
leaves many gig workers particularly vulnerable to four key problems:

1.

Wage Theft and Non-Payment

Due to a lack of worker protections, freelancers, and independent contractors, face significant
challenges in receiving fair and prompt payment. According to Freelancers Union, one of the key
issues for independent contractors is around income instability, due to the inconsistent nature of
freelance work. This issue is exacerbated by late and nonpayment, making it even harder for
workers to pay their bills on time, save or make necessary purchases.
According to a Freelancers Union survey, which polled more than 5,000 workers across the
country, one in every two freelancers had trouble getting paid in 2014, and 71 percent have had
trouble at some point. Usually the difficulties boiled down to late payment a problem that
affected 81 percent of those who said they had payment troubles. Freelancers are stiffed an
average of $6,390 every year, forcing many to use credit cards or rely on government assistance to
make up the difference. The problem is even worse for workers like construction day laborers,
who almost always work without a contract but are treated as independent contractors by the
companies that engage them.17

2.

Discrimination
Most local, state, and federal civil/human rights laws do not provide employment protections to
independent contractors, leaving them vulnerable to discrimination based on race, gender, age,
sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, etc. Given that we know a significant number of
independent contractors are people of color, this gap in our discrimination laws raises serious
concerns.
According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, contingent workers are more likely to
experience job instability, and are more than three times as likely as standard full-time workers to
report being laid off in the previous years.18 With significant turnover in this sector of the
economy, it is critical to protect these workers from discrimination at work and in the hiring
process.

17 Freelancers Union The Cost of Nonpayment: A study of Nonpayment and Late Payment in the Freelance Workforce Retrieved
from: https://fu-prod-storage.s3.amazonaws.com/content/advocacy/uploads/resources/FU_NonpaymentReport_r3.pdf
18 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Contingent Workforce: Size, Characteristics, Earning, and Benefits April 2015,
Retrieved from: http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/669899.pdf

14 | P a g e

3.

Lack of Access to Benefits

Employees in the United States have access to various types of non-wage compensation for their
work, including health and disability insurance, workers compensation for injury, paid leave, paid
sick days, transit benefits, pensions and retirement benefits. While there is much work to do to
ensure that all traditional employees have access to good benefits, independent contractors are
generally completely denied access to this crucial safety net.

4.

No Framework for Worker Organizing

The National Labor Relations Act affords employees the right to organize into unions, engage in
collective bargaining and take collective action. Under this law, it is illegal for employers to
prohibit or retaliate against employees for exercising these rights. Exempt from this legal
framework, independent contractors are left without the right to organize a union to negotiate
wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment with a hiring party.

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First Steps for NYC:

Wage Theft &
Discrimination
The Freelancers Union estimates that there
are 1.3 million freelance workers in New York
City, alone. The New York City Council is
working to provide basic protections to
independent workers. We aim to become the
first jurisdiction in the country to protect
freelancers from wage theft and to extend
our human rights law to clearly cover
independent workers.

A regular client of mine for ten years, the

NYC Department of Health HIV
Prevention meeting, contacted [the
hiring party] requesting me to be on the
job. Their request was ignoredI tried to
hire a lawyer to help me. Despite putting
together a well-organized case I was
turned down by four different lawyers.
Each one told me there was no law in
place for them to bring an act ion, so they
couldnt help me.
Ellen Sandles
NYC Freelance Court Reporter
NYC Council Public Hearing, February 2016

Freelance Isnt Free Act

The Freelance Isnt Free Act (Int. 1017-2015)
aims to put an end to nonpayment, providing
NYCs freelancers with real protection from
wage theft including a right to timely
payment and stiff penalties on deadbeats
who refuse to pay.
Developed in response to advocacy by the
Freelancers Union and a wide range of
freelancers, this bill would require any
company or individual who hires a freelance
worker to execute a simple written contract,
describing the work to be completed, and the
rate and method of payment. It would also
establish a right to timely payment in full:
payment would be due within 30 days of the
completion of the work. Companies who do
not pay, on time and in full, would face
penalties, including double damages,
attorneys fees and civil penalties.

Brown, an African-American, responded

to the [employment] advertisement and
attended a three-day training session.
During the training session, a heated
argument arose between Brown and one
of the Caucasian trainers. Brown alleged
that a racial slur was directed at her
during the incident. Despite the
argument, Brown was presented with an
independent contractor agreement at
the end of the training session, which
she signed. Shortly thereafter, however,
Craftmatic decided not to use Brown as a
sales representative. Brown suedbut
the appellate court dismissed a few of
Browns claims for the reason that she
was an independent contractor and not
an employee
Brown v. Craftmatic of Pittsburgh,
U.S. Court of Appeals, 2009

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New York City Council Members Brad Lander,

Stephen Levin, Corey Johnson, Laurie Cumbo
and Margaret Chin have worked to champion
this bill, seeking to provide New York Citys
independent workers added protection from
late and non-payment.

Extending Human Rights Law

Protections
Int. 1016-2015 would clarify that the
employment protections of the NYC Human
Rights Laws cover independent contractors,
part-time, temporary, leased, and seasonal
workers. New York Citys law applies only to
companies with four or more employees, so the
law also makes clear that all types of workers
(independent contractors, interns, temps,
leased and seasonal workers) count toward the
companys total number of workers, bringing
more employers into the fold.
In some cases, courts may determine that the
human rights laws do in fact apply to gig
workers. However, the explicit extension of
human rights protections is a simple way for
local municipalities to take action and raise the
floor for gig workers across the United States.

Moving Forward:
Toward Benefits
and the
Right-to-Organize
Once basic protections against wage theft and
discrimination are secured, the City Council
must begin working on next steps, to provide a
framework for benefits and organizing.

Driver Benefits Fund

In 2012, New York Taxi Workers Alliance
(NYTWA), after a close to 10-year struggle, won
regulation to establish a portable benefits fund
for taxi drivers (who, unlike black car drivers,
had been found to be independent contractors
by the NLRB). The NYC Taxi and Limousine
Commission (TLC) issued Fare Reduction Rules
that required medallion owners to deduct six
cents from each fare paid by credit card. The
fund would have offered tangible benefits
potentially including a supplemental disability
policy; term life insurance; vision, dental, and
hearing services and 24-hour mental health
counseling for over 30,000 drivers and their
families.
Unfortunately, however, in 2014 the Manhattan
Supreme Court found that in the absence of
legislation the TLC currently lacks the
statutory authority to establish such a fund
through rulemaking.19

Friendly Group Ltd. vs. City of New York April 2014,

retrieved from:
19

https://www.scribd.com/document/218181799/FriendlyGroup-Ltd-vs-City-of-New-York

17 | P a g e

The New York City Council, however, can pass

legislation providing the TLC with the
authority, and directing it to establish a
driver benefits fund. Funded through a fare
surcharge, such a fund would provide for-hire
drivers access to the benefits they need most,
which could include health care, disability,
and life insurance among others.
City Council Member Corey Johnson will soon
introduce a bill that will authorize and direct
the TLC to establish such a fund, in close
consultation with the City Council, the
NYTWA, experts and stakeholders, to ensure
the fund can truly benefit for-hire drivers in
New York City. Unlike the 2012 effort, which
only covered yellow-cab drivers, Johnsons
bill would cover all TLC drivers (yellow cabs,
for-hire vehicles including Uber and Lyft, etc).
A portable benefits fund is a step toward
keeping workers whole and improving the
quality of life for tens of thousands of drivers
whose service on city streets helps keep New
York moving.
This type of portable benefits fund could
serve as a model for other sectors as well.
Even where the City does not have the ability
to establish a surcharge, it may be able to
provide incentives to employers/customers
to pay into funds that enable workers to
compose a stable living. For example, a
matching subsidy could be provided as an
incentive to domestic employers to make
contributions toward benefits for domestic
workers (i.e. babysitters, house cleaners,
positions that often lack benefits).

In the short term, this way of working

works, but there is a long-term
downside. Its very difficult to build a
future, to save for a down payment on
a house, say, or to save for college
fund, on a full-time Uber driver salary
or even if you combine multiple
freelance services.
Harry Campbell
Blogger, taxi driver for Uber and Lyft
Reported by The Guardian, November 2015

Another two weeks passed and, once

again, the payments did not arriveI
tried to contact the owners myselfI
asked them to have consideration for
me, because I had just received the
news that my wife was pregnant, and
the lack of payment was especially
critical to me at the time. I never heard
back from them. More people started
to leave, and some decided to go to
Small Claims court After a month,
there were only 2 of us left to finish
the work and deliver the final product.
Only days after that, the company was
closed, the owners took the furniture
and equipment out of the office and
disappeared. There was no bankruptcy,
no one was notified they simply
closed. Freelancers got nothing. The
total loss of 40 workers exceeds
$300,000. I was owed more than
$20,000.
Mauricio Niebla
NYC Freelance Writer
NYC Council Public Hearing, February 2016

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New Frameworks for Organizing

All workers deserve the ability to organize with
their fellow workers and to bargain for
improvements in the terms and conditions of
their work.
As discussed above, some gig workers are
asserting that they have been misclassified as
independent contractors, but are actually
employees, and are therefore covered by the
National Labor Relations Act. The New York Taxi
Workers Alliance are making this claim in New
York Taxi Workers Alliance et al v. Uber
Technologies, Inc. et al.20 If these workers are
found to be employees, they can engage in
conventional organizing, under the NLRA, to
form a union and bargain with Uber.
Where workers are found to be independent
contractors, but a large number rely on a
corporate (or public/private) entity for their
livelihood, they should have a framework that
enables them to organize and bargain
collectively around the terms and conditions of
that relationship.

Another potential model, suggested by SEIUs

David Rolf, would establish sectoral
organizing, in which labor organizations could
be designated to organize workers (and collect
dues) from any drivers in the TLC system who
chose to join, and to represent them in
bargaining not only with specific employers, but
also directly with the TLC about the rules
governing their employment.22
In establishing new frameworks for organizing
as in other policy-making around independent
contractors it is critical to ensure that such
action does not undermine existing protections
or weaken future efforts. The goal must not be
to tempt employers, courts, or other policy
makers to expand their view of who is an
independent contractor.
This is why it is important for cities to combat
misclassification, provide new tools that enable
workers to exercise their rights under state and
federal laws, and support traditional employee
labor organizing. However, where workers are
genuinely independent contractors, a new
framework for organizing is needed.

Until federal or state law provides one, New

York City should seek to offer a framework for
organizing. In 2015, the Seattle City Council
passed a law that provides taxi, for-hire, and
Uber drivers with the right to organize, on a
relatively traditional union model, focusing on
individual employers.21 The details of such a
model are outlined in more detail later in this
report (see below, p. 22).

20 New York Taxi Workers Alliance et al v. Uber

Technologies, Inc. et al. Retrieved from:
https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/11615169/New
_York_Taxi_Workers_Alliance_et_al_v_Uber_Technologie
s,_Inc_et_al
21 Seattle Council Bill (CB) # 119499, Version: 2. An
ordinance relating to taxicab, transportation network
company, and for-hire vehicle drivers; 12/23/2015.

Retrieved from:
http://seattle.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=24519
83&GUID=E69B3AB7-88E1-491A-A49F-B32BE688D16C
22 Rolf, David. Toward a 21st Century Labor Movement The
American Prospect. April 2016. Retrieved from:
http://prospect.org/article/toward-21st-century-labormovement

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Mending the Fissured Economy

Outside of legislative action, some employers and advocates are developing alternative models for work
to meet the needs of businesses and workers alike.

Taking the High Road

A small number of on-demand companies have taken high-road approaches, choosing to structure their
businesses with their workers as employees and offering access to benefits. Despite the financial
incentive to classify workers as independent contractors, these companies see the bottom line benefit
to treating workers fairly, including improved recruitment, productivity and retention.
The National Employment Law Project has profiled several on-demand, app-based companies taking
high road approaches to their work. The CEO of Honor, a home care company based in San Francisco,
notes that its employees are the engine and the heart needed to deliver on our promise to provide the
highest quality care to our clients. Thats why our caregiving workforce is being converted from
independent contractors to W-2 employees. 23
Zeynep Ton, a professor at MITs Sloan School of Management explores similar efforts in her book The
Good Jobs Strategy. Ton highlights companies that design and manage their operations in a way that
satisfies workers, customers and investors. In Tons book, she states, these companies despite
spending much more on labor than their competitors do in order to have a well-paid, well-trained, wellmotivated workforce enjoy great success. In her research, Ton identifies concrete strategies for
reaching this triple bottom line. Ton is currently working on developing tools and frameworks to help
spread the Good Jobs Strategy, especially in low-wage services industries. Tons book focuses on storebased retailers, but there may be opportunities to apply the model to companies in the gig economy.
U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Thomas Perez is working actively to identify forward-thinking
business leaders who reject the false choice that we must either take care of our workers or run a
profitable business.24 Through outreach to business leaders, business schools, investors and the
promotion of B Corporations (who commit to upholding high social and environmental standards, even
at the expense of easy profit), he hopes the DOL can persuade less enlightened corporations to move
towards models of conscious capitalism.25

23 National Employment Law Project, Employers in the On-Demand Economy: Why Treating Workers as Employees is Good for
Business. March 2016. Retrieved from: http://www.nelp.org/publication/employers-in-the-on-demand-economy-why-treatingworkers-as-employees-is-good-for-business/
24 https://blog.dol.gov/2016/02/11/conscious-capitalism-for-the-next-generation-of-business-leaders/
25 http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/15/business/thomas-perez-a-labor-watchdog-whos-not-all-bite.html?_r=0

19 | P a g e

Worker Cooperatives (Co-ops)

Over the last few years in New York City, a new and
more inclusive paradigm for work has gained
significant momentum: Worker Co-ops are businesses
both owned and operated by the workers, providing
meaningful opportunities to achieve upward mobility,
higher wages and stable employment. The New York
City Network of Worker Cooperatives was founded in
2009 by a community of local worker-members, labor
organizers, developers, lawyers and academics, with
leadership from the Center for Family Life and CUNY
Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor
Studies.

Worker Co-ops are businesses

both owned and operated by
the workers, providing
meaningful opportunities to
achieve upward mobility,
higher wages and stable
employment.

In 2015, Council Member Helen Rosenthal passed Intro 423-A, requiring the NYC Department of Small
Business Services to report on its efforts to support worker co-ops. Council Members Maria Carmen Del
Arroyo and Helen Rosenthal advocated for $2.1 million to the Worker Cooperative Business
Development Initiative, to support the legislation and the NYC Worker Cooperative Coalition. In Fiscal
Year 2015, NYC supported the creation of 21 worker cooperatives, and supported an additional 24
existing worker cooperatives with technical assistance and business support. For more information on
New York Citys worker cooperatives, visit the FY15 Report.

Platform Cooperativism
The platforms of the on-demand economy may offer an opportunity to utilize the model of worker
cooperatives to distribute the benefits of increased convenience to gig economy workers.
With traditional ownership, the gains of on-demand platforms accrue predominantly to consumers and
company owners. Though the apps present low prices and convenience to consumers, this friendly
convenience is, for many workers, a low-wage precarious trap, says Trebor Scholz, a scholar of media
and culture and Professor at The New School.
However, some tech companies have begun to apply the
worker-owned model to various apps and online
Friendly convenience is, for
platforms, including Loconomics in San Francisco and
many workers, a low-wage
CornellTechs Coopify. Platform Coopertivism is about
precarious trap. Trebor Scholz
collective ownership and democratic governance of
platforms. It is bringing the rich history of worker
coopertives together with 21st-century technologies.
Stocksy and Members Media are apps cooperatively owned by the artists who submit content, like
photos and film. For-hire drivers and unions, too, have begun to build cooperatively-owned apps, from

20 | P a g e

Denver, Colorado to Newark, New Jersey. Public ownership of apps is another way to infuse democratic
values into the on-demand sector. Janelle Orsi, a sharing economy lawyer and cartoonist, has
proposed Allbnb, where residents would be paid a dividend from the profits of a rental platform as a
publicly-owned utility might.
Trebor Scholz has outlined a set of principles for these ownership models, highlighting the importance of
transparency, income security, protective legal frameworks and portable benefits. With Nathan
Schneider, of the University of Colorado, Trebor Scholz organized a symposium in November 2015 for
platforms owned and governed by the people who rely on them. Providing support to emergent
cooperative models could provide a strong opportunity for equity as the app-based economy continues
to grow. 26 Trebor Scholz is starting the Platform Cooperativism Consortium at the New School this fall. 27

Paths to Homeownership
Even when gig workers are paid fair wages, on-time, having an untraditional income stream can have
serious implications for financial planning and mobility. Traditional mortgage underwriting, for example,
generally expects presentation of bi-weekly pay-stubs, making it difficult for freelancers or contractors
with income fluctuation to purchase a home. In theory, self-employed workers should be able to apply
for a mortgage by showing sufficient, steady income over several years. In practice, however, gig
workers are often assessed by mortgage companies based on their daily rates or the lengths of their
contracts, which can vary wildly.28
Some lenders have begun seeking ways to more effectively serve potential homebuyers in the gig
economy. A California based start-up, Privlo, has begun making mortgage loans targeted to freelancers
and independent workers. Instead of asking for W-2 forms and annual salaries, they examined
everything from tax write-offs and 1099 forms to retirement savings, social media use, and a borrowers
ability to pay bills over a 12-month period.29 Given the growth of the gig economy, banks and lenders
will need to consider changes to lending practices to take into account the needs of gig workers.

Platform Cooperativism: Challenging the Corporate Sharing Economy by Trebor Scholz, Rosa Luxenburg Stiftun, Retrieved from:
http://www.rosalux-nyc.org/wp-content/files_mf/scholz_platformcooperativism_2016.pdf
27 Platform Coop, Retrieved from: http://platformcoop.net/about/consortium
28 Hamburgh, Rin. How do Freelancers get a Mortgage The Guardian, 2014. Retrieved from:
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/sep/17/freelancer-workers-get-mortgage
29 Cook, Nancy. Mortgages for Freelancers The Atlantic, February 2015. Retrieved from:
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/02/mortgages-for-freelancers/426084
26

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Raising the Floor Across the Country

Around the country, cities are working to raise the floor for gig workers. Through the efforts of local
elected officials, advocates, unions, and gig workers themselves, a series of policy tools are beginning to
emerge. National organizations, including the Partnership for Working Families, NELP, and Local
Progress, are helping to support and build connections between these efforts.
In the coming years, it will be important to conduct research on the outcomes of new policies, and to
work with other cities and states to build on and strengthen these policies. Some scholars have
proposed the establishment of new categories, such as dependent contractors, to capture workers
who do not meet the definition of employee, but are clearly not independent.
As these tools are developed, care must be taken to avoid unintended harms, or to erode existing
protections for workers. In some cases, policy and advocacy efforts have pitted two sets of workers
against each other (typically incumbent workers in more traditional jobs versus workers in newer
companies, e.g. yellow cab drivers versus Uber drivers). In other cases, the companies themselves have
sought to pre-empt activism with company-serving half-steps (e.g. the company union formed by Uber
in New York City).
USDOL and the NLRB are developing strong policies to address these issues. But ultimately, new policies
at the federal and state levels will need to emerge that provide a better framework for addressing the
issues facing workers in the fissured economy. For now, much of the policy innovation is taking place at
the local level.

Seattle, WA: Gig-Worker Organizing

In December 2015, the Seattle City Council voted unanimously to enact an ordinance giving taxi, forhire, and Uber drivers the ability to organize.30 Seattle is the first city in the United States to establish a
framework for contract drivers to organize and to bargain for agreements on issues including pay and
working conditions. This new framework requires entities that hire, contract with, or partner with forhire drivers to negotiate with a driver representative concerning working conditions, including the
amounts of any fare to be retained by the drivers, should the for-hire drivers select such a
representative. The proposal grew out of organizing by taxi, Uber, and Lyft drivers in Seattle and from
advocacy by Teamsters Local 117.
This bill was only introduced out of necessity after witnessing how little power drivers themselves had
in working for a living wage, says City Council Member Mike OBrien, I am proud Seattle is continuing
to lead the nation in advancing labor standards for our workers.31 The success of this bill to improve

30

Seattle Council Bill (CB) # 119499, Version: 2. An ordinance relating to taxicab, transportation network company, and for-hire
vehicle drivers; 12/23/2015. Retrieved from: http://seattle.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2451983&GUID=E69B3AB788E1-491A-A49F-B32BE688D16C
31 Beekman, Daniel Seattle first U.S. city to give Uber, other contract drivers power to unionize Retrieved from:
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/unions-for-taxi-uber-drivers-seattle-council-votes-today/

22 | P a g e

working conditions for these independent contractors is yet to be determined. The U.S. Chamber of
Commerce has filed a pending lawsuit against Seattle, arguing that the bill is illegal under federal law.32
Furthermore, advocates and workers in this space have raised concerns about whether or not this bill
will implicitly justify employers efforts to misclassify employees as independent contractors, as drivers
would enjoy more meaningful rights if classified as employees covered by the NLRB than under a
local law as independent contractors. Still, the bill signals pioneering efforts to ensure that all workers
have a framework for organizing and bargaining. Similar state legislation is currently pending in
California.33

San Francisco, CA: Retail Worker Bill of Rights

In December 2014, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the Retail Workers Bill
of Rights. Jobs with Justice San Francisco convened the coalition and led the campaign to create the
Retail Workers Bill of Rights, a precedent-setting package of legislation that regulates hours, retention,
scheduling and treatment of part-time employees at certain retail stores and fast food restaurants.
While the ordinances do not address the rights and benefits afforded to all gig workers, they ensure fair
treatment of part-time employees and promote full-time employment.
As noted, in todays fissured economy, employers are increasingly likely to outsource work to contract
agencies and freelancers to avoid overhead costs and legal obligations. Ordinances like the Retail Bill of
Rights mandate that certain employers offer any extra work hours to current qualified part-time
employees in writing before hiring new employees or using contractors or staffing agencies to perform
additional work. The ordinances ensure fair and predictable schedules and job security for 40,000 lowwage retail, restaurant and service workers in San Francisco.

Seattle, San Francisco, NYC: Offices of Labor Standards

While labor standards are set by law at the federal and local level, several cities have recently set up
local offices of labor standards. These offices not only play an enforcement role on municipal policies
(e.g. paid sick days), but also help to educate workers and employers about their rights under state and
federal laws. In San Francisco, the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE) works to ensure that
employers in the city are complying with local employment laws, in partnership with community-based
organizations and through affirmative outreach and investigations by its staff.
In Seattle, the Office of Labor Standards contracts with the Fair Work Center to do outreach and run a
workers rights legal clinic to enforce minimum wage ordinances and other laws. New York City has
recently established an Office of Labor Policy and Standards, building on these models. NYCs office will
include a Division of Paid Care, to focus on care workers, and will likely implement the Freelance Isnt
Free Act.

Chamber of Commerce, et al v. City of Seattle. Retrieved from: www.chamberlitigation.com/chamber-commerce-et-al-v-cityseattle-et-al

33 LA Times California bill would let gig workers organize for collective bargaining Retrieved from:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-gig-workers-bill-20160310-story.html
32

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San Jose/Silicon Valley, California

In Silicon Valley, a new labor-community alliance called Silicon Valley Rising is taking on the issue of
rising under-employment, unstable hours and scheduling, and precarious contract work through a
comprehensive campaign to build a more inclusive tech-driven economy. Their 2016 campaign,
Opportunity to Work, would require employers in the City of San Jose the 10 largest city in the
country to offer newly available hours to current, qualified part-time workers before hiring new
employees. Silicon Valley Rising gathered more than 35,000 signatures supporting the initiative. If
passed, the measure would impact the Citys 64,000 part-time workers, the majority of whom are
women and people of color. This initiative will go to the ballot in November 2016.
th

In addition, Silicon Valley Rising and Working Partnerships USA are addressing rising inequality and lowwage employment growth by working to inspire the tech sector to adopt responsible contracting
standards. As a driving industry in the region, the technology firms have substantial market power to
implement high-road procurement and contracting practices to raise employment standards.
Researchers at the University of California Santa Cruz found that work in subcontracted industries and
occupations has grown three times as fast as overall employment in Silicon Valley in the last two
decades, and up to as many as 80,000 workers in the region could benefit from increased wages and
benefits due to high-road contracting practices.34

Bay City News Supes endorse San Jose ballot initiative that would give part-time workers more hours. August 16, 2016.
Retrieved from: http://kron4.com/2016/08/16/supes-endorse-san-jose-ballot-initiative-that-would-give-part-time-workers-morehours/
34

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Conclusion
As cities across the country develop policies to
enhance protections, provide benefits and
create frameworks for organizing for gig
workers, New York City can play a leading role.
The legislation outlined in this report will help
ensure that gig workers have the rights,
benefits, and supports that workers need for a
decent standard of living and the dignity that all
workers deserve. Furthermore, the Citys
continued support of worker co-ops, platform
cooperativism, and other innovative models can
help to incentivize good job strategies across all
sectors.
Raising the floor for gig workers is just one
aspect of the Councils work to mend the
fissured economy. In recent years, the City
Council has made important strides through its
living wage, paid sick days, Office of Labor
Standards, and Division of Paid Care legislation.
The Council has also strengthened the NYC
Human Rights Law to prevent discrimination
against caregivers, interns, pregnant women,
people with criminal records, and people with
poor credit. In addition, the Council has
provided funding for day labor organizing and
worker cooperatives.
In the coming months and years, the City
Council should continue to build on this work,
by adopting fair scheduling legislation, updating
the NYC living wage law to account for the
increase in the NYS minimum wage, helping to

ensure that employees do not need to pursue

part-time gig work to make ends meet, and
supporting new models of worker organizing.
New York City should continue to work
through Local Progress, the Partnership for
Working Families, NELP and other national
partners with cities across the country looking
to raise the floor for at-risk workers.
Ultimately, these issues will need to be
championed by leaders across the country and
codified in State and Federal Law. In her first
speech on the economy in the 2016 Presidential
Campaign, Hillary Clinton spoke to the need for
legislation to update worker protections for the
21st century. However, Republicans in Congress
have spoken far more favorably about
encouraging the expansion of the on-demand
employment model, without meaningful
protections for workers.
For now, partisan gridlock in both Washington
and Albany makes action unlikely, and creates
opportunities for the New York City Council to
act. The New York City Council can only raise
the floor (i.e. the existing state and federal
protections will automatically remain), which
provides a good space for policy
experimentation. With these local tools, cities
around the country can move forward to raise
the floor for gig-economy workers a strong
foundation on which state and federal
governments can build.

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Resources
Freelancers Union
Freelancers Union gives independent workers a powerful voice through political action, research, and
thought leadership. We aim to ensure that independent contractors receive adequate rights,
protections and professional benefits. Members of Freelancers Union play an active role in leading
community initiatives and advocacy campaigns. Were a community that looks out for one another
and were only as strong as our members.

The National Employment Law Project

The National Employment Law Project (NELP) aspires to build an economy that embodies and advances
principles of inclusion and fairness, justice, sustainability and shared prosperity. The Rights on
Demand series focuses on issues confronting workers in the on-demand economy, as part of our
broader campaign to ensure that all workers, regardless of how their employers classify them, receive
fair wages and benefits in a safe and healthy work environment.

New York Taxi Workers Alliance

New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) is the 18,000-member strong union of NYC taxicab
drivers. We fight for justice, rights, respect and dignity for the over 50,000 licensed men and women
who labor 12 hour shifts with little pay and little protection in the citys mobile sweatshop. Our
members come from every community, garage, and neighborhood.

Center for Popular Democracy

The Center for Popular Democracy works to create equity, opportunity and a dynamic democracy in
partnership with high-impact base-building organizations, organizing alliances, and progressive unions.
CPD strengthens our collective capacity to envision and win an innovative pro-worker, pro-immigrant,
racial and economic justice agenda.

A Better Balance
Our mission is to promote equality and expand choices for men and women at all income levels so they
may care for their families without sacrificing their economic security. Our goal is to make our society
more hospitable to families by promoting and supporting policies that would allow parents to remain in
the workforce without compromising the well-being of their families.

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National Domestic Workers Alliance

National Domestic Workers Alliance is the nations leading voice for dignity and fairness for the millions
of domestic workers in the United States, most of whom are women. NDWA works for the respect,
recognition, and inclusion in labor protections for domestic workers. The national alliance is powered
by 53 affiliate organizationsplus our first local chapter in Atlantaof over 20,000 nannies,
housekeepers, and caregivers for the elderly in 36 cities and 17 states.

Local Progress
Local Progress is a national network that supports, connects, and unites progressive local elected
officials and allied organizations from across the nation. We are driven by a commitment to a strong
middle and working class, equal justice under law, sustainable and livable communities, and government
that serves the public interest effectively. We offer our members valuable policy and strategic resources,
interesting events in person and online, some staffing support for legislative efforts, and the opportunity
to connect with hundreds of other elected officials.

Fair Care Labs

Fair Care Labs makes work better for nannies, caregivers and house cleaners. As the innovation hub for
National Domestic Workers Alliance, we experiment with improving marketplace norms, collaborating
with the private sector and launching sustainable ventures that will create a fairer future for the care
industry.

National Day Labor Organizing Network

National Day Labor Organizing Network improves the lives of day laborers in the United States. To this
end, NDLON works to unify and strengthen its member organizations to be more strategic and effective
in their efforts to develop leadership, mobilize, and organize day laborers in order to protect and expand
their civil, labor and human rights. NDLON fosters safer, more humane environments for day laborers,
both men and women, to earn a living, contribute to society, and integrate into the community.

32BJ SEIU
32BJ SEIU, an affiliate of SEIU, the Service Employees International Union, is the largest union of
property service workers in the U.S. with more than 155,000 workers. Our mission is to build and grow a
diverse, effective, politically independent and democratic organization of workers to change our lives for
the better, improve our communities, and build a more just society for present and future generations.
We recognize our successes and learn from our setbacks. We strive to be strategic, organized, inclusive,
honest, respectful, optimistic and confident.

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SEIU 775
SEIU represents more than 40,000 long-term care workers providing quality in-home care, nursing home
care and adult day health services in Washington State and Montana. SEIU is a part of the larger Service
Employees International Union (SEIU) that now represents more than 2 million members in the United
States, Canada and Puerto Rico, and more than 1.1 million health care workers across the country. We
are part of a much larger movement that is fighting on behalf of working people nation-wide.

Partnership for Working Families

The Partnership for Working Families is a national network of leading regional advocacy organizations
who support innovative solutions to our nations economic and environmental problems. Together they
are a voice for working families, promoting policies that create quality jobs and thriving, healthy
communities. We advance innovative campaigns, provide issue specific resources and share winning
strategies and lessons with allies dedicated to creating a new economy that creates opportunity for all.

Make the Road New York

Make the Road New York (MRNY) builds the power of Latino and working class communities to achieve
dignity and justice through organizing, policy innovation, transformative education, and survival
services. Make the Road New York serves and engages poor and working class communities of color who
face shared hardships and injustices. Our 15,000+ members come from over 25 different countries.

Working Partnerships USA

Working Partnerships USA is a community organization that drives the movement for a just economy by
bringing together public policy innovation and the power of grassroots organizing. We build the capacity
of workers, low-income neighborhoods and communities of color to lead and govern. Based in Silicon
Valley, we tackle the root causes of inequality and poverty by leading collaborative campaigns for
quality jobs, healthy communities, equitable growth and vibrant democracy.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing federal laws
that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race,
color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40
or older), disability or genetic information. It is also illegal to discriminate against a person because the
person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an
employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

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U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)

The U.S. Department of Labors mission is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage
earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance
opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

The National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency vested with the power to
safeguard employees' rights to organize and to determine whether to have unions as their bargaining
representative. The agency also acts to prevent and remedy unfair labor practices committed by private
sector employers and unions.

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