Noncustodial Parents and the GIG Economy

Collecting child support from parents who work in the gig economy is difficult, and the number of parents working in the gig economy is increasing. This brief uses Census Bureau information to define the gig workforce and the number of noncustodial parents who are working in the gig economy. Four work arrangements are associated with the gig work: independent contractors, on-call workers, temporary agency workers, and working for a contract company. Gig work is usually temporary and not set-up as a traditional employer/employee relationship, making the enforcement of child support orders hard.