NEW YORK — The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against a gig work company, saying it misled people about the money they could make on its platform.
“Arise lured in workers with false promises about what they could earn while requiring them to pay out-of-pocket for essential equipment, training, and other expenses,” FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan said in a statement Tuesday. “Operating in the ‘gig’ economy is no license for evading the law, and the FTC will continue using all its tools to protect Americans from unlawful business practice.
People who join the Arise platform spend hundreds of dollars buying equipment including computers and headsets and paying for training programs that are required before working on the platform, the FTC said.“They sell them on these training courses that they have to pay for, but then a high proportion don’t pass the training and get the job, so they just paid for nothing,” said Shannon Liss-Riordan, attorney and founding member of Lichten & Liss-Riordan, a law firm in Massachusetts.
That decision could affect more gig work platforms, because “even if the platform does nothing to mislead workers, the platform might violate the rule if it doesn’t give workers an extensive disclosure document,” said Erik Gordon, professor at Ross School of Business at University of Michigan.TALLAHASSEE, Fla.