In the United States, a trio of lawmakers has launched an assault on the rights of gig workers, proposing a law that effectively excludes them, and many others who work on-demand, from the minimum wage and overtime pay.

The bill, entitled the “Worker Flexibility and Choice Act,” would permit “worker flexibility agreements” that exempt employers from providing minimum wage and overtime if they allow workers to turn down work from their firm and pursue work at competing businesses – both essential features of gig work.

... Multiple studies across the country have also found, based on pay records submitted by rideshare drivers and food and grocery delivery workers, that many of them do not earn enough to cover rent or their living expenses, even as they toil in unsafe working conditions. This is why extending minimum wage requirements to gig workers, exactly the opposite of what the bill calls for, is vital.

... Gig work may also offer less flexibility than workers have been led to believe.

... US government data indicate that the majority of gig workers are dependent earners: A 2018 survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 69 percent of people working for rideshare, delivery and other digital labor platforms work full-time hours.