Workers’ non-discrimination in the metaverse

Faculty of Law, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj, Romania

^* Corresponding author email: felicia.rosioru@law.ubbcluj.ro

Abstract

Technology is evolving and the workplace is radically changing; remote work is possible for activities that we never sought that could be done elsewhere than in a workplace organised by the employer. Digitalization enables automated production lines, but also automated decisions related to the employees, replacing human control and making platform work possible. The impact of innovation on labour law was very important during the pandemic, accelerated by the need of the so-called `social distance`. Several platforms, like Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Webex Meet were rapidly adapted to allow live interaction for those who could not meet in-person. Online meetings, online lectures, online administration etc. have become quite rapidly the `normality` of those days. In this context, an old idea has found fertile ground for development: the metaverse. Even if the metaverse doesn’t exist yet, work in virtual worlds advertised as metaverses has become a reality, challenging the traditional structures of labour law. One of the concerning issues related to the metaverse is related to workers’ discrimination in the virtual world and the possibilities to tackle it.