On Worker Classification, Apps and the Future of Work

Welcome to AccelPro Employment Law, where we offer interviews and products to accelerate your professional development. Today we’re featuring a conversation about worker classification, a world-wide issue that goes far beyond Uber, freelance work and other aspects of the gig economy.

Joining us to explain all the nuances of this complicated issue is Samantha Prince, an assistant professor of law at Penn State Dickinson Law. She says “uncertainty and volume of lawsuits” related to this issue is not sustainable, and that it’s not just a financial or book-keeping issue, it’s a health issue.

People who work without benefits such as retirement plans, paid time off or health insurance face stress-related health issues. But there’s no legal reason for it to be that way. Employers can provide benefits even to contract workers. “Some people do conflate receiving benefits with the current culture of traditional employment, which means ‘giving up your freedom,’” she says. “But there’s no rule that says that you have to give up control of your hours or how you work just because you’re receiving benefits.”

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