Fortt Knox

Employees or contractors? Gig economy's labor crisis

Employees or contractors? Gig economy's labor crisis | Fortt Knox
VIDEO25:0625:06
Employees or contractors? Gig economy's labor crisis | Fortt Knox

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law, AB5, that would force more companies to treat more workers as employees, not contractors. What's the big deal?

Whether it's ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft, or delivery companies like Postmates, Doordash and Instacart, a slew of companies have grown up in the smartphone era with a radical idea: When just about everyone has a smartphone and a credit card, you can assemble a workforce on a moment's notice, pay workers electronically and let them be independent contractors.

But just because employers can do this, should they?

Jon Fortt sits down with two professionals who have driven for Uber and Lyft and have different opinions about what should happen here.

Fortt Knox is a weekly podcast from CNBC anchor Jon Fortt. Previous episodes of the program can be found here.