This chapter argues that the classification of workers as independent contractors or employees should be shaped by an overarching question: How much flexibility do individuals have in determining the time, place, price, manner, and frequency of their work? Those who have more control of these variables are more independent than those who must conform to a business owner’s schedule. This approach provides an objective basis for resolving classification disputes, particularly those that arise in the context of the technology-based economy. By minimizing legal uncertainty, a focus on worker flexibility would ensure both that workers receive appropriate protections under existing law and that companies are able to innovate without fear of unknown liabilities.

By examining some of the more critical and emerging issues facing this industry – defining employment, litigating claims, aggregating cases, and preventing harassment – this book takes on some of the more high-profile instances where the law has not kept pace in this growing area of virtual work.

As the United States tax system continues to grapple with how to tax workers in the gig economy, it confronts a number of questions about the nature and composition of the sector as well as the tax issues confronted by its participants. Many of these questions have proven difficult to answer due to a lack of adequate information. But the answers are important and will shape how tax and other areas of law (such as employment law, labor law, and antitrust) respond to the gig economy. Thus, the question of how to obtain the data and information necessary to formulate sound policies for gig work is vital. This chapter discusses the limitations of quantitative empirical research on the gig economy and argues that incorporating more qualitative approaches will help generate a more comprehensive understanding of the tax policy issues involved. Adoption of a diverse set of research approaches is crucial because the administrative tax return and labor survey data are incomplete and are shaped by prior decisions of gig economy firms and participants. Many questions remain that such quantitative data, by its very nature, cannot answer. This chapter first identifies the key tax issues at stake in the gig economy, including tax administration, worker classification, and tax impacts on workforce decisions. It then discusses the key ways in which quantitative approaches do not fully capture the tax issues at stake. Finally, it details how qualitative research methods such as interviews and case studies can flesh out gaps in the quantitative data, can help interpret quantitative data, and can help answer questions that extend beyond the scope of quantitative data, yielding a richer account of gig economy tax issues than that provided by quantitative tax administrative and labor survey data alone.