Why this S.F. startup says it'll give equity to gig workers

With the proportion of freelance workers expected to grow in coming years, business leaders and policymakers are working to develop solutions on how to create a safety net for an expanding population of 'gig' workers untethered to any one company.

Thanks to high-profile lawsuits like the ones affecting Lyft and Uber - two poster children for on-demand labor models enabled by apps - much of that discussion has focused on whether gig workers should be entitled to classic employee benefits like…