The US Department of Labor has proposed a rule that would make it more difficult for companies to treat workers as independent contractors, a change that is expected to shake up ride-hailing, delivery and other industries that rely on gig workers.
Gig company stocks were hammered on the news, with Uber, Lyft and DoorDash all falling at least 10 percent.
The proposal, revealed on Tuesday, would require that workers be considered a company’s employees, entitled to more benefits and legal protections than contractors, when they are “economically dependent” on the company. It could have wide-ranging impacts on company profits and hiring, and household incomes and worker quality of life.
The Labor Department could restrict independent contracting and said it will consider workers’ opportunities for profit or loss, the permanency of their jobs, and the degree of control a company exercises over a worker, among other factors.
The…
