Gig firms push back against drive towards worker employee status

Firms such as Uber, Doordash say their workers enjoy the gig economy’s flexibility; labour groups fear creating an underclass.

Facing growing threat by a new United States administration insistent on reclassifying ride-hail and food delivery workers as employees with full benefits, gig economy companies including Uber, Lyft, Doordash and Instacart are pushing to maintain their drivers’ independent contractor status, albeit with additional benefits. The companies, whose business models rely on low-cost flexible labour, argue that surveys show the majority of their workers do not want to be employees, saying a new generation of workers wants to choose when and how much to work. They hope to convince US officials and lawmakers to drop attempts to reclassify gig workers as employees, efforts that have gained urgency with the election of US President Joe Biden, who campaigned on the promise of delivering benefits to gig workers.