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Contractors working for the federal government will be Watch Carnal Cravings (2006)among the first in the gig economy to gain some workplace protections.

Federal contractors will be guaranteed up to seven paid sick days a year, the Department of Labor said Thursday.

Contractors won't have to work directly for the federal government to qualify. Businesses doing work for the federal government will have to give paid sick leave to their contractors, too.

"Millions of Americans still do not have access to even a single day of paid sick leave, so when workers get sick they may have to choose between caring for themselves or paying their bills.  Too many parents must make the painful choice between staying home to take care of a sick child -- and losing out on a day’s pay-- or sending their child to school sick," the White House wrote in a fact sheet announcing the new rule.

Workers will accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours of work. Unused leave time will carry over to the next year if a contract worker stays with the same employer.

President Obama signed an executive order on this issue a year ago, but the Department of Labor finalized the rule this week.

The Department of Labor says the rule stands to affect 1.15 million workers, 600,000 of whom previously had no access to sick leave.

Workers will be allowed to take their leave to care for family members or in the aftermath of sexual assault or domestic violence, in addition to recover from traditional illnesses.

This move is part of a growing effort to secure workplace protections and benefits for members of the gig economy who work on a contract basis.

The total number of independent workers in the US is forecasted to grow to as many as 54 million by 2020. Many of them work for companies like Uber and Postmates that have relied on their independent status to grow so quickly.

Most of those workers don't get paid time off, nor do they get employer-sponsored benefits. Care.com recently launched a benefits program for the caregivers who use its platform that, while limited in scope, was one of the first efforts to provide benefits to gig workers. 

The Department of Labor's rule also ties into efforts to expand access to sick leave for low-wage hourly jobs, in addition to contract work.

In the same announcement, the White House said the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission would begin collecting pay data broken down by gender, race, and ethnicity from all businesses with 100 or more employees.