There’s nothing exploitative about the gig economy

“Exploitative, money-grubbing corporate monoliths.” That’s how one recent commentator evaluates companies that will be forced to pay workers more than they had bargained for because of California’s Assembly Bill 5, which reclassifies many independent contractors as employees. It’s a conventional way of vilifying those who run companies like Uber and Lyft, which the legislation targets. But is it true, or just?
Allegations that a business “exploits” a wor