What the First Gig Work Treaty Means for US Workers

Since gig workers aren’t directly employed by companies (but are hired as independent contractors), they don’t get the protections or benefits afforded to traditional employees.

Some rights groups argue that gig workers’ unclear employment statuses have allowed companies to avoid paying them the minimum wage. A 2025 Human Rights Watch report found that US gig platform workers surveyed earned $5.12 per hour on average after expenses. Their overall compensation was about 30% below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. 1

Without wage security, many gig workers struggle to make ends meet. In Human Rights Watch’s report, about three-quarters of workers surveyed said they struggled to afford housing, and more than one-third said they couldn’t cover a $400 emergency.

How algorithms impact gig workers

One of the biggest challenges for workers is how much power the gig platforms’ algorithms have. Gig apps use these algorithms to dictate workers’ pay rates or even terminate them.

A 2025 report from the Washington Center for Equitable Growth found that Uber and Lyft track users’ personal data, like how often they look for work on the apps and how much they generally accept, to find workers willing to accept the bare minimum without the protections that come with fixed-term contracts. 2

According to Novara Media, one Lyft driver in the US said that over a two-month period, it took her longer and longer to earn $200. She claimed that the longer she spent on the app, the less she would be paid per trip.

The algorithms can also deactivate workers’ accounts if they’re perceived as violating the platform’s terms of use. However, many gig workers claim that this has caused them to be terminated seemingly without reason.

A 2025 report from the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) found that 70% of drivers deactivated by Uber and 76% of drivers deactivated by Lyft were terminated without any prior notice. 3

During a hearing held by the New York Department of Consumer and Worker Protections (DCWP) and the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC), one driver claimed he was deactivated because he canceled a ride to attend a doctor’s appointment.

“Do the Uber and Lyft people see us as human beings at all, or just money-making machines for them?” he said. “It’s really very appalling considering how drivers get treated on a daily basis by these companies.”

The new standards from the ILO aim to combat the issues gig workers face. During its 114th session in Geneva on June 12, 2026, the ILO officially adopted the “Convention No. 193 concerning Decent Work in the Platform Economy.” This global treaty sets binding employment standards for gig workers, such as:

• Occupational safety and health standards: If the treaty is followed, gig workers will be guaranteed safe working conditions like those in traditional employment. It also stipulates that in some cases, workers should be granted access to Social Security, sick days, and healthcare.
• Minimum remuneration: Companies need to pay a fair base rate to gig workers.
• Protection against unjustified deactivation: Gig workers will no longer be at risk of termination without notice, especially when decisions are made by algorithms without human oversight.

While the treaty still recognizes gig workers as independent contractors, the measures should still be applicable regardless of employment status.

Amanda Brown, vice chair of the ILO’s Workers’ Group, which represents trade unions and workers around the world, said the historic convention would protect gig workers across the world from exploitation and financial insecurity.

“For the first time in the history of international law, the women and men who move our cities, who clean and care in our homes … will be named, recognized and protected by a binding international standard,” she told delegates.

Data and algorithmic protection for gig workers

Along with standards on pay and unfounded termination, the ILO’s convention also focuses on the issue of data privacy. If it’s adopted, companies will be required to inform workers about automated systems used to monitor, evaluate, or generate decisions about their work.

Tom West, program director at UK-based charity Privacy International, said that this convention guarantees safeguards for workers’ privacy rights and personal data.

“For too long, platform workers have been guinea pigs for the rollout of algorithmic management tools that use their own data to undermine and exploit them,” he said. “This convention recognizes the need for transparency, accountability, and rights over personal data to reset the rules of the game. Governments and employers can now turn to improving their rules, regulations, and practices to put an end to algorithmic abuse at work.”

What about AI training data?

These measures come at a particularly important time for gig workers. Gig apps like Uber and DoorDash are using their workers to train AI models, which has led many to question what actually happens to the data that’s collected. The platforms claim the data isn’t used to evaluate worker performance, but many of their independent contractors believe they are quietly “training their replacements.”

The ILO’s convention doesn’t explicitly mention workers’ rights surrounding data-gathering for AI training.

However, part of the measures in the convention give workers the right to request a written explanation and review (with appropriate human involvement) of significant automated decisions that adversely affect their work. Some data collection tasks may fall under this umbrella.

The ILO’s new standards will be welcomed by many gig workers across the world. However, actually enforcing the new treaty will depend on whether governments ratify it.

While the ILO can’t directly enforce these measures, members of the organization can put pressure on governments or submit complaints that could lead to investigations. If a country does ratify the measures, workers could take legal action against gig economy platforms.

The ILO uses a tripartite voting system, where representatives from governments, employers, and workers vote independently, to adopt conventions.

A total of 406 members of the ILO, including the governments of China, Japan, and France, voted in favor of the convention.

The US, however, voted against it. Lorenzo Riboni, the US representative at the ILO, told delegates that they didn’t support a prescriptive binding convention in fast-evolving areas of the economy.

“This is especially true for the cross-cutting platform economy, where overly rigid rules hinder innovation and harm workers that they intend to help,” he said.

Gig platforms themselves are reluctant to take the blame for the issues their workers face. In response to Human Rights Watch’s report, a Lyft spokesperson said that app-based work “provides millions of Americans uniquely flexible work opportunities.”

“It allows them to work around their many real and unpredictable commitments and their busy schedules in ways that traditional 9-5 jobs don’t provide.” 4

Unfortunately for American gig workers, it’s unlikely that the US will ratify the ILO’s standards.

According to projections from Statista, gig workers are on track to make up about half of the US workforce by 2027, translating to around 86 million Americans.

Lena Simet, senior economic justice adviser at Human Rights Watch, believes that as more people move into the gig work space and algorithms dictate workers’ job security, the ILO’s new measures will be essential.

“As AI and automated management increasingly shape work, governments should move quickly to ratify and enforce the Convention,” she said, “including by ensuring that companies cannot use contractual labels or opaque algorithms to deny workers the protections they are entitled to.”

Gig apps believe their current operating models work in their workers’ favor. They argue that gig work offers people flexibility that’s unavailable to traditional employees.

But critics are adamant that flexibility comes at the cost of genuine protections and safeguards against exploitation.