Joe Biden made no secret about his position on the gig economy when he was in campaign mode. “Employer misclassification of ‘gig economy’ workers as independent contractors deprives these workers of legally mandated benefits and protections,” his campaign website said. “This epidemic of misclassification is made possible by ambiguous legal tests that give too much discretion to employers, too little protection to workers, and too little direction to government agencies and courts.” And the first few steps he has taken since assuming office have demonstrated that he’s serious about taking on gig businesses: mere hours after being sworn in, he froze the Labor Department rule that was about to make it easier to classify workers as contractors. Not to mention that he nominated Marty Walsh to the top position at the Labor Department, a staunch union advocate who will no doubt take up Biden’s charge to render it even harder for gig economy companies and other businesses to retain independent contractors. But when it comes to Biden’s loftiest ambition in this arena – passage of federal legislation to ensure as many gig economy workers as possible are classified as employees – he may run into an expected roadblock: his own party.
