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Many workers turning to the gig economy

On Behalf of | Aug 14, 2018 | Wage And Hour Laws |

Gig work is becoming a bigger and bigger part of our world. According to some estimates, next year could see up to half of the U.S. workforce participating in the gig economy.

Now, some might see gig work as something that just young workers do. However, participants in the gig economy are a diverse group, with individuals from many different age groups taking on such work.

Many different things could draw a person into being a gig worker. According to a recent survey of gig workers from the baby boomer, generation X and millennial generations, common motivations include wanting to earn extra money on the side and desiring to balance career and family. How common particular motivations were varied among the generations.

While the gig economy has attractive aspects for workers, such work can also have its challenges. The survey indicated that the top gig work challenge cited by workers for all three of the above-mentioned generations was lack of benefits. This was a particularly big concern for baby boomers, with over three-fourths of the surveyed gig workers from this generation citing this concern.

Now, there are certain things that could create additional challenges for gig workers and possibly hinder their ability to achieve their goals related to their participation in the gig economy. One is if the companies they are connected to as part of their work don’t respect their rights. What rights, such as wage and hour rights, a worker has depends on how he or she is classified. So, being misclassified by the company they do gig work through or with is one of the things that could expose workers to significant violations of their rights.

When workers suspect that they have been subjected to misclassification or other employment law violations in connection to gig work, they may want to seek out a review of and guidance on their situation from a skilled attorney.

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