In an effort to pare labor and benefits costs, many businesses and government employers have significantly reduced the size of their permanent, full-time work forces in favor of a part-time work force and various types of contingent workers: independent contractors, temporary workers, on-call workers and day laborers, and leased workers. Contingent work arrangements have especially significant implications for today's and tomorrow's midlife and older women. Whether by choice or not, women of all ages are much more likely than men to work in contingent jobs. Contingent workers face lower earnings, fewer benefits and legal rights, truncated career paths, and dimmer prospects for retirement income security. Laws protecting U.S. workers were designed with traditional, full-time employees in mind. Consequently, many contingent workers do not receive the same protection as their full-time counterparts. Because nonemployees can find also find themselves without occupational health and safety protections, civil rights protections, and collective bargaining rights, it is very important that employers not misclassify their employees as independent contractors. Federal labor legislation should be amended to extend the same protections to workers in continency arrangements that are now guaranteed to traditional full-time workers. (Contains 17 references.) (MN)