App-based rideshare platforms’ rapid expansion has transformed gig work from a temporary, flexible labor model into a sustained form of employment that serves as the primary source of income for millions of workers. Despite this evolution, leaders in the rideshare industry continue to classify drivers as independent contractors, thereby avoiding statutory obligations related to minimum wage, overtime, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, and healthcare benefits. This Comment argues that as platform-based labor becomes more permanent and economically dependent, the continued reliance on independent contractor classification becomes increasingly inconsistent with the governing legal standards designed to distinguish employees from independent contractors. This Comment draws on the Fair Labor Standards Act’s economic reality test and comparative state-level approaches to examine how worker classification operates in practice and how app-based intermediaries have structured their business models to preserve independent contractor status. It contends that the industry’s emphasis on flexibility obscures the significant control and economic dependence inherent in the rideshare relationship, and critiques proposals for a third “independent worker” category as likely to dilute existing labor protections rather than resolve perceived doctrinal ambiguity. Ultimately, this Comment concludes that the existing legal framework, if properly applied, is sufficient to address platform-based labor relationships. Accurate worker classification—grounded in economic reality rather than contractual labels—is essential to preserving labor protections in an increasingly technology-mediated workforce.
Hope E. Newkirk (Sat,) studied this question.