The International Labor Organization has adopted Convention No. 193, the first binding international standard governing work arranged or performed in the platform economy. The Convention establishes baseline standards for pay, safety, data protection, and algorithms for digital labor platforms and workers.

It requires countries to:

  • Ensure that a worker’s classification reflects the actual facts of the work relationship;
  • Provide protections on pay, safety, and harassment;
  • Require disclosure and oversight of algorithmic decision making; and
  • Establish safeguards for data privacy, account deactivation, and dispute resolution.

The Convention is binding only for those countries that ratify and implement it through national law, which the United States is unlikely to do. Nevertheless, the Convention is expected to shape regulatory approaches to worker classification, pay practices, and automated decision making around the world.

Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here.