Abstract
The 'gig-economy' or 'on demand work' is an embodiment of the digitised labour market, created and developed with the help of digital work platforms that can take the form of mobile applications. In theory, the relationship between platforms and workers is not a labour relationship, i.e. it is not continuous. In practice, however, the control exercised over the service provided can be interpreted as a manifestation of authority by the employer. In an attempt to align factual reality and appropriate qualification, this paper presents two similar approaches, namely the Proposal for a Directive on the improvement of working conditions for work on platforms and the 'ABC test' applicable in California. In our analysis we present the legal presumptions on which these interpretations are based and show the possible implications.
References
ALBANEZI A., Platformele Multilaterale la Intersecția dintre Dreptul Societar și Dreptul Muncii, 2023, teză dactilo., Biblioteca central Universitară „Lucian Blaga”, Cluj-Napoca, cota: TEZE10315;
ALTMAN E. J, M. TRIPSAS M., Product to Platform Transitions: Organizational Identity Implications, Harvard Business School Research Paper nr.. 14-045, sept. 2014, online: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2364523;BARZILAY, A. R., BEN-DAVID, A., Platform Inequality: Gender in the Gig-Economy, Seton Hall Law Review, Vol. 47, nr. 393, 2017;
BELTRAN, I., Employment status of platform workers: national courts decisions overview, online, https://shorturl.at/gikJ1 ;
DE STEFANO, V., ALOISI, A., Fundamental Labour Rights, Platform Work and Human-Rights Protection of Non-Standard Workers, Bocconi Legal Studies Research Paper nr. 3125866/ 2018, online:, https://ssrn.com/abstract=3125866;
DE STEFANO, V., Introduction: Crowdsourcing, the Gig-Economy, and the Law, Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal, vol. 37, nr. 3, Spring 2016;
HIEßL CH., Case Law on the Classification of Platform Workers: Cross-European Comparative Analysis and Tentative Conclusions, online: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3839603.;
LOBEL O., The Law of the Platform, San Diego Legal Studies Paper nr. 16-212, 2016, online: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2742380;
MCNICHOLAS, C., POYDOCK, M., How California’s AB5 protects workers from misclassification, Economic Policy Institute, online, 14 noiembrie 2019: https://www.epi.org/publication/how-californias-ab5-protects-workers-from-misclassification/;
MOORE, M.T., The gig economy: a hypothetical contract analysis, Legal Studies, vol. 39, nr. 4, 2019;
PRICE S. J., The Shoe Is About to Drop for the Platform Economy: Understanding the Current Worker Classification Landscape in Preparation for a Changed World, University of Memphis Law Review, vol. 52, 2022, online: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3942057;
PRIVATEU G.T., NERGER G., The Worker Classification Dilemma: The IRS Test and the Platform Economy, iulie 2021, online: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3900659;
PROSERPIO D., TELLIS G. J, Baring the Sharing Economy: Concepts, Classification, Findings, and Future Directions, 2017, online: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3084329;
ROȘIORU F., Accesoriu sau integrat în activitatea angajatorului: Cazul Uber, RRDP nr. 2/2021;
ROȘIORU F., După muncă și răsplată: substanța contractului individual de muncă, RRDP nr. 1/2021;
ROȘIORU, F., Dependența juridică și economică a salariatului, RRDP nr. 4/ 2019
SPRAGUE R., Using the ABC Test to Classify Workers: End of the Platform-Based Business Model or Status Quo Ante, William and Mary Business Law Review, vol. 11, nr. 3, aprilie 2020;
SRNICEK N., Platform capitalism, Edit. Polity Press, Cambridge, 2017;
THORDARSON K., AB-5 and Drive: Worker Classification in the Gig Economy, Hastings Business Law Journal, vol. 17, nr.1, iarnă 2021.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.