On Thursday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) narrowly voted in favor of a policy statement on gig work, covering issues ranging from worker classification to earning claims to collective bargaining to non-compete clauses. The policy statement passed in a party line 3-2 vote.

“The thrust of the FTC’s policy statement is that gig work is inherently unfair, but millions of Americans choose gig work because of its flexibility and how it’s helping them make ends meet in the face of inflation,” said Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich. “While going after tech might score political points, the FTC risks harming millions of gig workers by flirting with employment law proposals that even the Department of Labor hasn’t touched.”

In April, Chamber of Progress released an economic analysis finding that a national rule reclassifying independent contractors as full-time employees could result in a loss of direct income for approximately 3.4 million American workers. The report, titled “The Many Ways Americans Work and The Costs of Treating Independent Contractors As Employees,” details the impact on workers and wages if the United States were to implement sweeping changes to reclassify independent workers as employees. 

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Chamber of Progress (progresschamber.org) is a center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future.  We work to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.  

Our corporate partners do not have a vote on or veto over our positions. We do not speak for individual partner companies and remain true to our stated principles even when our partners disagree.