The stock prices of Uber, Lyft and DoorDash slid after the Department of Labor announced proposed changes to how workers should be classified.
The federal agency says the prospective guidance is intended to “combat employee misclassification.
Uber’s share price dropped by more than 10% to $24.61, while Lyft’s tanked more than 12% to $11.22 and DoorDash’s fell more than 5% to $44.98 at the time of writing.
Uber, Lyft and DoorDash depend extensively upon gig workers, who haul people and meals around on their behalf but do not receive many hard-won benefits of employment such as employer contributions toward their Social Security and Medicare taxes.
Ride-hail and meal-delivery companies say that changing how gig workers are classified would threaten their businesses, yet these firms like Uber, Lyft and DoorDash have also posted hefty net losses under the status quo.