Gig Work, Contractor Status Land on EEOC’s Anti-Bias Radar

The EEOC plans to tackle discrimination and harassment faced by workers who say they’ve been misclassified as independent contractors, an issue that’s drawn more attention with the proliferation of the gig economy.

Across industries, lawsuits alleging that contractors are employees have focused on minimum wage, overtime, and other labor violations, more so than discrimination against women, minorities, and other protected workers.

Attorneys say that could change as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission aims to participate in a multi-year, multi-agency effort to combat worker misclassification, an announcement that was highlighted in last week’s White House budget proposal.

The budget blueprint ...