Independent contractor bargaining gets antitrust protection
Independent contractor bargaining gets antitrust protection

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Independent contractors, including gig workers, are shielded from antitrust liability when taking part in protected bargaining and organizing activities, the Federal Trade Commission said Jan. 14 in a policy statement. This includes activities such as seeking better compensation and job conditions.
“Companies increasingly rely on gig workers and independent contractors,” FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said in a press release. “As more of these workers consider unionizing to secure better pay and conditions, the FTC is making clear that the antitrust laws do not stand in the way of their efforts to collectively organize or bargain.”
The commission stated it will not challenge collective action by independent contractors and gig workers, which include rideshare and food delivery drivers.
“Gig workers shouldn’t be forced to accept low wages or poor working conditions just because they’re independent contractors,” Hannah Garden-Monheit, director of the FTC’s Office of Policy Planning, said in a press release.
The commission voted 3-2 to approve the policy, with Commissioners Andrew N. Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak voting against the policy.
“I dissent from the commission’s issuance of this new enforcement policy statement regarding the labor exemption from the antitrust laws mere days before the inauguration of President Trump,” Ferguson said in a statement.
“As I have said before, this is not the time for the Biden-Harris Commission to announce policy changes, let alone declare how the agency will exercise prosecutorial discretion going forward,” he said. “Indeed, it is senseless for the Biden-Harris Commission to announce, on its way out the door, its plans for the future. It has no future.”