iSchool Capstone

Between Essential and Expendable: Seattle Gig Workers' Experiences of Precarity through the Covid-19 Pandemic

Project tags:

information policy & ethics

Research Award

Previous research has established a clear need for labor protections for app-based workers. And, prominent legislative debates have focused on reclassification - attempting to recognize on-demand platform work as outside the purview of traditional independent contracts. However, there has been relatively little research to understand how policies outside of reclassification impact on-demand workers. Drawing on focus groups and recurring interviews with a cohort of 50 participants in the Seattle area, we assess workers’ experiences over a two-year period in order to evaluate the role of hazard pay and sick time established by the City of Seattle during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Project participants:

Lindsey Schwartz

MLIS