Countries, states, and provinces have their own legislation regarding who is an employee and who is an independent contractor. In some jurisdictions, the terms “labor” and “work” are used interchangeably, while in others “labor” is used to denote a unionized workplace, for example. For a gig industry app to work well, the various norms and complex interplay of laws and regulations defined by provincial, state, or federal authorities need to be applied for each location of work sites and workers.
The gig economy will continue to change as governments, platforms, and private insurers redesign protection frameworks so that all types of modern work is secure and sustainable. The apps who will lead the way in the gig economy will be the ones that continue to evolve with the changing demands of the workplace.