How Do Courts Respond to the Platform Regulation Policy in Protecting Gig Workers? Evidence From Court Decisions in China

Abstract

Governments in many countries struggle to balance the development of the platform economy and the protection of gig workers. In China, the State Council promulgated the Guiding Opinion in August 2019, marking a shift from promoting platform development to protecting gig workers' rights. This study analyses 562 work-related injury disputes involving food delivery platforms to evaluate how courts have responded to the platform regulation policy. The results show that the Guiding Opinion has prompted courts to assign greater liability to platforms in cases involving crowd-sourced riders. However, in cases involving special delivery riders, the probability and proportion of claims have decreased since the promulgation of the policy. These findings contribute to the literature on gig workers by highlighting the impact of government policy on court rulings regarding platform employment disputes. Adopting active protection policies and rational judicial behaviour can effectively protect gig workers.