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Category:Gig Economy

January 14, 2021
News & Commentary

Minnie Che

Yesterday, the House of Representatives began debating the impeachment of President Trump based on an article of impeachment that accuses Trump of “incitement of insurrection” on the Capitol to stop the affirmation of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. They voted to impeach him for the second time. However, Senator Mitch McConnell has stated that he will not use […]

Prop 22 Passes in California

Nov 4, 2020 Minnie Che

With official results for the Presidential race still pending, California has passed Proposition 22, an exemption from California employment law that will allow Lyft and Uber to continue classifying workers as independent contractors. It was a closely scrutinized and costly battle. Lyft, Uber, joined by DoorDash, Instacart, and Postmates, put in over $204 million towards a campaign in support of the ballot […]

Moving Beyond App Drivers: Exotic Dancers, a Gig Worker Success Story

Oct 5, 2020 Kate Griffith and Emma LoMastro

The U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed rule to expand the number of workers who businesses can classify as independent contractors represents the agency’s latest attempt to reduce company accountability for employment conditions. The rule further fuels the ongoing debate about the exemption of employment protections for “independent contractors.” When it comes to the independent contractor […]

September 24, 2020
News & Commentary

Minnie Che

In an online exchange sponsored by American Compass, Ben and Sharon write about how the decline of the labor movement has contributed to stark economic and political inequality in America, and how fixing labor law is one way to address this inequality. The piece focuses on labor law’s inequitable treatment of immigrants, workers of color, and women and calls for […]

Uber’s Flexibility Myth: Reprise

Aug 19, 2020 Benjamin Sachs

As Uber has done countless times before, it argued in a recent NYT op-ed that the firm can’t possibly classify its drivers as employees because doing so would undermine the core feature of its business model: “flexibility.” I have argued many times myself that Uber’s argument about flexibility is nothing more than a myth; that […]

The Pitfalls of Uber and Lyft as Franchisors

Aug 19, 2020 Veena Dubal

Uber and Lyft are in the early stages of discussions to possibly turn many of their California drivers into employees. However, rather than become employees of the companies, the drivers would likely become employees of other businesses. In considering this move, Uber and Lyft have assessed how FedEx Ground Package Systems responded to a 2014 […]

August 13, 2020
News & Commentary

Minnie Che

Amidst the pandemic and its widespread economic consequences, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is looking to implement budget cuts, either through savings from the city’s unions or potentially laying off 22,000 out of 300,000 city workers. According to Politico, de Blasio’s budget team have been in contact with high-ranking city officials regarding their individual budgets. The […]

July 30, 2020
News & Commentary

Minnie Che

On July 24, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that an unemployed worker who had qualified for unemployment benefits could not be disqualified based on classification as “self-employed” when he then started driving for Uber. The worker in this case, Donald Lowman Jr., obtained compensation benefits after he lost his job in the behavior health field. He began driving […]

The Classification of “Gig” Workers in Canadian Work Law

Jul 7, 2020 David Doorey

The central legal conundrum for labor law when it encounters platform or ‘gig’ work is one of legal classification. The distinction between ‘employee’ and ‘independent contractor’ is as old as labor law itself, and it is based on presumptions that fit uneasily when applied to forms of work other than that which labor law scholars […]

April 6, 2020
News & Commentary

Randon Herrera

On Sunday, the Department of Labor issued new guidance clarifying gig workers’ eligibility for unemployment benefits under the CARES Act—the federal government’s coronavirus relief package. The guidance answers some key questions about the administrability of these benefits. For instance, some worried about the lack of clarity about whether, and to what extent, states should verify […]

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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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January 14, 2021

Prop 22 Passes in California

Moving Beyond App Drivers: Exotic Dancers, a Gig Worker Success Story

September 24, 2020

Uber’s Flexibility Myth: Reprise

The Pitfalls of Uber and Lyft as Franchisors

August 13, 2020

July 30, 2020

The Classification of “Gig” Workers in Canadian Work Law

April 6, 2020