The Federal Trade Commission is looking into the complex and potentially unfair economics and policies of the gig economy for “deceptive, unfair, and otherwise unlawful acts and practices.” Whether it’s forced arbitration, labor misclassification, or algorithmic pay and job distribution, the agency says it will go after any dubious tactics that hurt workers.
To be clear, a “statement of policy” like that issued today is not a new rulemaking or law. It is what it sounds like, but you might think about it more as a statement of priorities. The FTC has been aware of and indeed working against unfair labor practices in the gig economy for years — the salad days of exploitation (as of so many things) was before the pandemic, even.
But today’s circumstances and the par …
