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Category:Gig Economy

Uber and Progressive Federalism

Jan 13, 2017 Benjamin Sachs

As Jon reported last night, an individual arbitrator has issued an award finding a California Uber driver to be an independent contractor rather than an employee. The award is wrongly decided. I won’t engage in a complete analysis here, but, to find employee status, the arbitrator relies primarily on four California cases, three of which involved […]

Gig News: In First Uber Classification Arbitration, Driver Ruled Independent Contractor

Jan 12, 2017 Jon Weinberg

The Recorder reports that Uber has “successfully persuaded a private arbitrator that a California driver for the transportation company is an independent contractor, not an employee, in the first arbitration in the United States to test that issue.” While drivers continue to challenge Uber’s mandatory arbitration agreements in court, the arbitrator’s decision represents the outcome […]

Gig News: Swiss Agency Finds Uber Driver Is Employee

Jan 6, 2017 Jon Weinberg

The public agency in Switzerland charged with providing obligatory on-the-job accident insurance, Suva, has determined that an Uber driver in that country is an employee – meaning Uber will have to pay social security contributions on that driver’s behalf. Swiss broadcaster SRF reports that the agency found that the Uber driver’s case clearly had the characteristics […]

Pleading Minimum Wage Violations against Uber

Dec 30, 2016 Benjamin Sachs

A federal district judge has denied Uber’s motion for judgment on the pleadings in an important wage and hour case brought by UberBlack drivers (Razak v. Uber Technologies, Inc.). The order, from October, contains important rulings on what Uber drivers have to plead on the “employee” question to survive such a motion, and on what it takes for drivers to […]

Monopoly as the Uber Business Model

Dec 19, 2016 Benjamin Sachs

Naked Capitalism recently ran a five-part series on the Uber business model. I can’t speak to the accuracy of the conclusions, but the arguments are striking and the series should go on the reading list of anyone interested in the gig economy and its implications for workers. According to the series, which is summarized in the fourth […]

Gig News: Trump's Secretary of Transportation Cheered by Uber & Lyft

Dec 2, 2016 Jon Weinberg

Bloomberg reports that representatives of both Uber and Lyft have voiced support for President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of Elaine Chao for Secretary of Transportation: “We have the utmost respect for Elaine Chao, an accomplished public servant and highly capable leader,” Adrian Durbin, a spokesman for Lyft, wrote in an e-mail. “We congratulate her on the […]

Gig News: EEOC Strategic Enforcement Plan Prioritizes Gig Economy

Nov 30, 2016 Jon Weinberg

Last month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission adopted a Strategic Enforcement Plan for 2017-2021 to “set forth its continued commitment to focus efforts on those activities likely to have strategic impact in advancing equal opportunity and freedom from discrimination in the workplace” – and indicated that the gig economy will be a priority for the […]

Gig News: NLRB Sides With Uber Drivers in Challenge of Class Action Waivers

Nov 2, 2016 Jon Weinberg

In a significant court filing with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the National Labor Relations Board has backed Uber drivers challenging the validity of driver arbitration clauses with class action waivers, and signaled that the legality of such clauses is an issue of “national significance.” The Ninth Circuit is currently considering in, O’Connor v. Uber, the enforceability of […]

What the UK Decision Implies for Uber Drivers in the U.S.

Oct 28, 2016 Benjamin Sachs

As Jon reported this morning, an employment tribunal in London has concluded that Uber drivers are not self-employed independent contractors, but rather Uber workers. The tribunal’s decision is available here, and I recommend it: it’s full of details regarding the relationship between Uber and its drivers. And although legal tests differ across jurisdictions, what the […]

Gig News: October 28, 2016

Oct 28, 2016 Jon Weinberg

In a major ruling with widespread implications for gig economy workers in the United Kingdom, an employment tribunal in London found that Uber drivers are not self-employed independent contractors, but rather Uber workers. The Guardian reports that “the case could open up the technology firm to claims from all of its 40,000 drivers in the […]

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OnLabor

Law. Workers. Organizing.

OnLabor is a blog devoted to workers, unions, and their politics. We interpret our subject broadly to include the current crisis in the traditional union movement (why union decline is happening and what it means for our society); the new and contested forms of worker organization that are filling the labor union gap; how work ought to be structured and managed; how workers ought to be represented and compensated; and the appropriate role of government — all three branches — in each of these issues.

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Uber and Progressive Federalism

Gig News: In First Uber Classification Arbitration, Driver Ruled Independent Contractor

Gig News: Swiss Agency Finds Uber Driver Is Employee

Pleading Minimum Wage Violations against Uber

Monopoly as the Uber Business Model

Gig News: Trump's Secretary of Transportation Cheered by Uber & Lyft

Gig News: EEOC Strategic Enforcement Plan Prioritizes Gig Economy

Gig News: NLRB Sides With Uber Drivers in Challenge of Class Action Waivers

What the UK Decision Implies for Uber Drivers in the U.S.

Gig News: October 28, 2016