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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
The state of California is suing Uber and Lyft. Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a lawsuit against the two ride-hailing companies on Tuesday alleging they've "exploited hundreds of thousands of California workers" by classifying their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees.
[...] The lawsuit alleges Uber and Lyft violated a California state law called AB 5, which aims to ensure workers have adequate labor protections by classifying them as employees. The suit was filed in San Francisco County Superior Court by the Attorney General's Office in conjunction with the city attorneys from San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.
[...] Gig workers are considered essential workers, meaning they can continue to work as the virus spreads. Because they're still out there, delivering food to people in quarantine and transporting medical workers to and from hospitals, they can be more at risk of contracting COVID-19. Thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers have been infected with or exposed to the coronavirus, according to the companies, and at least five drivers have died from the disease.
An Uber spokesman said the company plans to fight the lawsuit. "At a time when California's economy is in crisis with 4 million people out of work, we need to make it easier, not harder, for people to quickly start earning," he said.
A Lyft spokesman said the company will work with state lawmakers "to bring all the benefits of California's innovation economy to as many workers as possible."
[...] The lawsuit seeks to fine the companies up to $2,500 for each violation under California law. If a court rules in favor of the state, Uber and Lyft could end up owing hundreds of millions of dollars in those civil penalties and in back wages to drivers.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bzipitidoo on Thursday May 07 2020, @02:33AM (2 children)
If the US had health care that is affordable-- none of that $6000 deductible crap-- it'd be one less distinction between contractors (on their own for insurance) and employees (might be covered by a company plan).
But there's lots more. Contractors aren't eligible for unemployment. Work is "at will", and they can be terminated instantly, with no reason given. They can't go to the state board of labor if the employer cheats them of pay or discriminates. They have to pay self-employment tax, which is a lot higher than taxes upon wages and salary, because the employer does not pay into Social Security or Medicare. To compensate for all the disadvantages of not being a de jure employee, pay should be at least 1.5x higher than a salary or wage for that same position.
Because a lot of people overlook all these costs, employers are too often able to entice people into gigs by dangling what appears to be equivalent pay. Uber and Lyft are especially bad about passing on a great deal of hidden cost. Driving and maintaining a car is not cheap. Sure, drivers get to deduct mileage from their taxes, and it is a generous deduction, but it is a deduction, not a payout. Further, driving is risky. It's not skydiving risky, no, but it carries plenty of risk. Of the routine activities we do, traveling in a car is an order of magnitude more risky than all the rest. I would guess most of their drivers don't know the real costs of all that driving.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 07 2020, @05:37AM
In case you haven't worked it out yet, this is exactly why the USA doesn't have a decent healthcare system. Tying your health insurance to your employment limits your options and makes switching jobs much riskier. This puts power in the hands of employers and downwards pressure on wages. As long as corporate amerika controls your politicians, you will never get a decent system.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday May 07 2020, @12:29PM
What level of pay compensates for the advantages? Such as work only when and where you feel like it - which incidentally is great for when you have a real job that you're working around or move to a new location and need to pick up some work.