I’ve been getting a number of press calls asking whether the NFL players who are sitting down during the national anthem might be disciplined by the League for doing so, or whether they enjoy legal protection against such employment action. I recommend, ... More »
In a major gig economy development, London’s transit authority announced today that it will revoke Uber’s operating license. Among the reasons cited for the revocation are problems in the way Uber conducts background checks of its drivers. Employm... More »
By Sharon Block and Benjamin Sachs Serious thinking about labor law reform seems to be coalescing around a few themes. One of these is the possibility of allowing state and local intervention into the rules of union organizing and collective bargaining. Purs... More »
Sharon Block is testifying this morning before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce in a hearing on “The Sharing Economy: Creating Opportunities for Innovation and Flexibility.” The hearing and a video of the testimony is available h... More »
I’ve been reading Alex Rosenblat’s excellent work on Uber, and want to emphasize one of her findings, a finding that is highly relevant to the employment question but one that we haven’t highlighted sufficiently on the blog. (For other covera... More »
I thought readers would appreciate the opening paragraph of a new article on regulating ridesharing platforms: In 1933, Elizabeth Rhone called Try Me Cab Company’s advertised phone number to order a cab. The company dispatched a vehicle bearing its logo. Unfor... More »
South Africa’s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), in an in limine ruling, has found that Uber drivers in South Africa are employees within the meaning of the law. The order is available here. The facts found relevant by the ... More »
Pope Francis delivered an address to the Confederation of Trade Unions in Italy (CISL), and his message is a compelling one. It can be read in its entirety here. For me, there were at least four important points. We should not think about labor without under... More »
The debate between Brishen Rogers and Andy Stern points to important questions about the best strategy for achieving a progressive UBI in the United States. We look forward to publishing Rogers’ reply to Stern soon. In the meantime, I want to offer a t... More »
Thanks to the many readers who have responded to my post (just now) on the University of Washington minimum wage study. The original post is now updated to include a link to the EPI paper that responds to the UW study and makes a series of important methodolo... More »
As FiveThirtyEight reports today, in a story titled Seattle’s Minimum Wage Hike May Have Gone Too Far, a team of researchers at the University of Washington is out with a new economic analysis of the Seattle Minimum Wage Ordinance. Here’s the abstr... More »
Lost in the extensive coverage of Travis Kalanick’s resignation is the news that Uber is adding an in-app tip option. According to the Washington Post, the option is already available in Houston, Minneapolis, and Seattle, and should be part of the app n... More »