Punching In: What Marty Walsh Didn’t Say About Gig-Worker Status

Monday morning musings for workplace watchers

Walsh’s Gig Worker Challenge | Abruzzo’s Agenda | OSHA Staffing

Ben Penn: Labor Secretary Marty Walsh‘s declaration that gig workers should be employees “in a lot of cases” rippled through the stock market, but left unsaid was how the U.S. Labor Department could translate that position into enforceable policy.

Walsh could broadly interpret federal wage law to cover as many workers as possible. Doing so would imperil the business models of Uber Technologies Inc., Instacart, and other digital platform companies that consider their workers independent contractors rather than employees who are eligible for ...