COLLEGE PARK, Maryland – Advocates for workers in the gig economy often argue that the lack of benefits, especially health care, is the biggest obstacle for this growing workforce. While benefits are a major concern, a greater problem is this: getting paid.
Kai Keefe of College Park, Maryland knows this all too well. The 24-year-old freelance filmmaker, editor and videographer has been stiffed by clients so many times that he’s come to believe it’s part of the cost of working independently.
“It’s happened to me a lot in small amounts like $100 to $300,” said Keefe, who finds work on Craigslist.com and through personal referrals. He doesn’t always make a big deal about it, “but it does add up.”
Most of the clients who shortchanged him were individuals who hired him “under the table” without a contract, but he also has had trouble collecting his full fee on contract work with companies.
In one case, Keefe was hired by a law firm that agreed to pay him a flat fee of $1,500 for a two-day film shoot. But the firm paid him less than the amount agreed upon in the written contract because the shoot took less time than expected.
“That’s the sort of more sneaky way that people try to short you,” Keefe said.
The number of Americans working in the gig economy – a group that includes freelancers, independent contractors and the self-employed who work on short-term jobs – is growing rapidly in the state of Maryland and across the country.
But unlike most traditional employees who work for a single company and receive a reliable paycheck, many gig workers are often scrambling to get paid.
“Because it takes less effort to hire a gig worker, and the assignment is temporary, non-payment is easier to get away with,” said Tom Spiggle, an employment attorney who practices in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. And because they are contract workers, not employees, “there are fewer opportunities under law to seek a solution in the courts through collective action.”
Gig workers who work via internet platforms that collect payment at the time of service, such as ride-sharing website Uber Technologies Inc., aren’t as much at risk for nonpayment. But most gig workers, even those who use internet platforms, often must negotiate for jobs and request payment on their own, a process that leaves plenty of room for problems.
In a 2015 study by the Freelancers Union, whose members include independent and gig workers, 71 percent of freelancers reported challenges getting paid during their careers and 50 percent reported trouble getting paid in the previous year.
The report estimated that freelancers were stiffed an average of $5,968 in 2014, representing about 13 percent of their average annual income.
The union was instrumental in pushing New York City to pass the Freelance Isn’t Free Act, which took effect in 2017 and requires clients to pay freelancers and other gig workers within 30 days of services rendered unless otherwise specified in the contract.
“We see that nonpayment and late payment continue to be a huge challenge for freelancers,” said Caitlin Pearce, the executive director of the Freelancers Union. She added that among freelancers who have filed claims under New York’s freelancers act, “74 percent received the full amount they were owed.”
The state of Maryland has many laws that protect traditional workers regarding pay, but nothing specifically protects freelancers and independent contractors, according to the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.
But last year, Maryland was one among seven states chosen by the National Governors Association to study and analyze the gig economy and to identify policies that eventually could support gig workers.
Kim Bobo, author of “Wage Theft in America: Why Millions of Working Americans Are Not Getting Paid and What We Can Do About It,” said the laws haven’t yet caught up with the gig labor market.
“These laws were really written when people were workers and not contractors, so there’s stronger coverage for workers,” she said. “I do think there’s a sense that they’re not employees,” and therefore “people feel free to cheat people.”
Another problem for gig workers is that some companies ask them to do their first job free, to essentially test them out. While it’s common for some young freelancers to willingly take unpaid work to gain experience, most believe it’s unfair for companies to ask them to forgo payment.
“If it’s work that someone else is profiting off of and they’re getting a freebie… that’s wrong,” said Sherwyn Santos, another freelance filmmaker based in College Park.
Santos said he worked a number of pro bono jobs when he first started freelancing to build his portfolio and eventually earned a number of paid gigs and built trustworthy relationships with clients.
However, after being stiffed about four times since he started freelancing, he has learned to be more firm when it comes to collecting payment.
In one case, he was filming footage for an organization in New York that verbally agreed to pay him $500. However, after the shoot, he was given a bad check and was ultimately “ghosted,” as the company stopped answering his inquiries.
Santos didn’t resort to legal action, but ultimately didn’t send the footage. He now requires a 50 percent deposit up front, asks for pay on the day of service and tries to have his agreements in writing.
Bobo, who is executive director of the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, said nonpayment issues sometimes arise because contracts are either unclear or can be interpreted in a way that allows a client to argue for withholding payment. She said workers having trouble getting paid should not be afraid to take action.
“If your employer doesn’t pay you and you’ve done work, I would find ways to tell others in the community (about it),” Bobo said. “And go to small claims court, for yourself and to send a message to your employer that they can’t cheat people.”
Spiggle advises gig workers to get legal help.
“I would also advise making a relationship with a collection agency who can help you with non-paying clients,” the attorney said. “It is time-consuming and complicated to deal with non-payment. Finally, stop work if a client fails to pay you timely; don’t make a bad problem worse.”
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