Cherry: The Big Picture of "Gig Economy" Work

Miriam Cherry (SLU) just posted on SSRN her article (forthcoming Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal) Beyond Misclassification: The Digital Transformation of Work. Here's the abstract:

The first part of this article provides a brief litigation update on various worker lawsuits within the gig economy. While the O’Connor v. Uber case has received the lion’s share of attention and analysis, similar lawsuits on labor standards have been filed against other on-demand platforms. Analysis of the ongoing litigation reveals several important themes, including an emphasis on the labor law of California. The second part of the article shifts from the doctrinal issues around misclassification to look at broader trends, arguing that we are currently experiencing a far-reaching digital transformation of work. The changes include the growth of automatic management and a move toward ever more precarious work. To the extent that technology can help us realize an increase in skilled knowledge work that is a positive goal. It is questionable, however, if present forms of crowdwork extend that framework. In fact, some forms of the new crowdwork seem to be a throwbacks to a Taylorist deskilling of the industrial process, but without the loyalty and job security. These results are not inevitable, but we need to pay attention to them if we hope to arrest the race to bottom in labor standards online.

rb