Lithuania approves new protections for digital platform workers

The Lithuanian Government has approved amendments to the Labor Code and other laws aimed at protecting workers on digital platforms, such as couriers and drivers. These changes transpose the European Union’s Platform Directive into national law to ensure greater transparency and protection against algorithmic management.

The new regulations seek to clarify the employment status of platform workers, determining whether they are employees or self-employed based on actual working conditions rather than contract labels. Key protections include the right for workers to understand how algorithmic monitoring systems function, what data is collected, and the criteria used for decision-making.

To prevent unfair treatment, final decisions made by automated systems that affect a worker’s rights—such as account blocking—must be reviewed by a human. Additionally, platforms will be prohibited from collecting sensitive or non-work-related data, and workers will have the right to request explanations for automated decisions and transfer their work data, such as ratings, to other platforms.