Update or More Enforcement? Fair Labor Act Debated 80 Years In

Does the rise of today’s gig economy call into question whether an 80-year-old federal wage law is still relevant? Some updates may be warranted, but making significant changes to the Depression-era Fair Labor Standards Act won’t be easy, worker advocates and management-side attorneys told Bloomberg Law.

Going to work used to mean leaving one’s home and physically traveling to a workplace. Today, it’s as simple as signing into a smartphone app.

“I think there’s a tendency for people to think we need new rules because of the gig economy,” Ruben Garcia, a professor at William S. Boyd School of Law ...