FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan glances at SEC Chairman Gary Gensler during a House Financial Services Committee hearing. | Photo by Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
The Federal Trade Commission voted today to put gig economy companies on notice, promising to protect gig workers from unfair contracts, pay, and hours.
In a 3-2 vote, Democratic FTC commissioners approved a new policy statement announcing that the agency would “use the full portfolio of laws it enforces to prevent unfair, deceptive, anticompetitive and otherwise unlawful practices affecting gig workers.”
Specifically, the FTC said it would go after companies that misrepresent a worker’s potential earnings or wrongfully use artificial intelligence to evaluate worker productivity. The agency also plans to investigate the industry for evidence of wage-fixing between companies.
“No matter how gig companies choose to classify them, gig…