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posted by martyb on Wednesday May 02 2018, @04:54PM   Printer-friendly
from the GIGantic-decision dept.

In a ruling with potentially sweeping consequences for the so-called gig economy, the California Supreme Court on Monday made it much more difficult for companies to classify workers as independent contractors rather than employees.

The decision could eventually require companies like Uber, many of which are based in California, to follow minimum-wage and overtime laws and to pay workers' compensation and unemployment insurance and payroll taxes, potentially upending their business models.

Industry executives have estimated that classifying drivers and other gig workers as employees tends to cost 20 to 30 percent more than classifying them as contractors. It also brings benefits that can offset these costs, though, like the ability to control schedules and the manner of work.

"It's a massive thing — definitely a game-changer that will force everyone to take a fresh look at the whole issue," said Richard Meneghello, a co-chairman of the gig-economy practice group at the management-side law firm Fisher Phillips.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/30/business/economy/gig-economy-ruling.html


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  • (Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 02 2018, @06:01PM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 02 2018, @06:01PM (#674683)

    or until they fumble their jump and fall into the ocean of unemployment, hoping that someone will cast them a live preserver and drag them aboard a new ship that is better than their old one.

    The ship will probably be shittier than the old one, plus good luck getting picked up at all. After all, if you were valuable, what are you doing in the ocean?

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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 02 2018, @06:07PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 02 2018, @06:07PM (#674687)

    Let the existential terror of simply existing in the US commence! err, CONTINUE!

    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday May 02 2018, @09:28PM (3 children)

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday May 02 2018, @09:28PM (#674771) Journal

      Let the existential terror of simply existing in the US commence! err, CONTINUE!

      What country again doesn't have existential terror? It's not like there is a country in the world where one's life can't be snuffed out in a moment.

      • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 02 2018, @10:31PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 02 2018, @10:31PM (#674799)

        Are you threatening us, again, khallow? Please don't free market us!

      • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 02 2018, @10:47PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 02 2018, @10:47PM (#674808)

        Ah yes, khallow the shit-equivocator.

        Well lets see, first off any country with universal healthcare! No worries about getting buried under a mountain of deb due to some medical issue beyond your control.

        Any country with decent services to help the unemployed / disabled, along with free education.

        Any country in the 20% range for World Bank GINI https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality [wikipedia.org]

        Every country will have some problems that make life hard for its citizens, but there are better and worse places.

        Why do you always chime in on these topics? Just to try and make yourself feel better about living in a shitty country? Yes there are worse places than the US, but you obviously are stuck in a bubble or not paying attention to the every day reality of your fellow citizens. I can not overstate how horrible you are for always defending the worst shit and trying to make it seem like there is nothing better than the US.

        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday May 03 2018, @12:04AM

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday May 03 2018, @12:04AM (#674841) Journal

          Well lets see, first off any country with universal healthcare! No worries about getting buried under a mountain of deb due to some medical issue beyond your control.

          Or you could get insurance that covers that. And universal health care turns threats for the individual into threats for the society. Government bankruptcy isn't usually an existential threat, but it's not something that goes away quickly either.

          Ah yes, khallow the shit-equivocator.

          Which was a quite valid equivocation, let us note. Treatable health problems aren't the only source of existential threats for a person (the poster I replied to implied otherwise) and thus, it is foolish to assume that the existence of health care would remove all existential threats.

          Any country in the 20% range for World Bank GINI https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality [wikipedia.org]

          Ok, so what? Income inequality is a scam for dodging that absolute income has improved greatly and poverty gone down greatly.

          Every country will have some problems that make life hard for its citizens, but there are better and worse places.

          Equivocation alert!

          Why do you always chime in on these topics?

          Because you are ignorant and need help.

          I can not overstate how horrible you are for always defending the worst shit and trying to make it seem like there is nothing better than the US.

          And I can't overstate just how weak as your "worst shit" is. Oh dear, I defended the processes that have done the most over history (particularly, over recent history!) to elevation humans out of poverty and improve the human condition. I'm a Genghis Hitler for that!