After long campaign by thousands of app-based drivers with the Independent Drivers Guild, New York City released a report today analyzing a proposal to establish a minimum pay rate for app-based for-hire vehicle drivers. The NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission,... More »
“Gig economy” or “online platform” companies that provide personal labor services—Uber, Lyft, TaskRabbit, Handy, Instacart, Grubhub, and others—challenge American law’s system for classifying workers as “employees” or “independent contractors, As I explain in... More »
Starting tomorrow, no Costco employee will earn below $14 an hour. While some locations already saw a $13.50 an hour minimum wage, the new mark, which nearly doubles the federal minimum of $7.25, signals that the “fight for $15” is edging forward, and the nat... More »
On May 11, the Ninth Circuit dealt a blow to a Seattle city ordinance permitting Lyft and Uber drivers to unionize. However, the court’s ruling was not entirely unfavorable for “gig economy” workers. Lyft and Uber, along with other affected groups, challenged ... More »
The Competitive Enterprise Institute has weighed in on our debate over flexibility in the gig economy with a new piece by Trey Kovacs. Their bottom line: they agree with my analysis of the law but object to the “burdens” (what I’d call minimu... More »
Professor Estlund argues that if gig firms have to classify their workers as employees (as I believe the law now requires, and as the Dynamex decision makes more likely), those firms will respond by “exercising greater control over hours and scheduling, ... More »
Today’s Philadelphia Inquirer reports on the death of Pablo Avendano, a 34-year old bike messenger who was killed while delivering food for Caviar, the app-based food delivery service. Because Avendano was classified as an independent contractor and not ... More »
The Boston Globe reports that a group of 500 airport workers at Logan Airport are preparing to strike this afternoon. Employed by ReadyJet and Flight Services & Systems, these baggage handlers, wheelchair attendants, cabin cleaners, and skycaps, have auth... More »
In “The Case for Letting Uber Drivers Organize,” Samuel Estreicher argues that the 1914 Clayton Act allows rideshare drivers to organize without violating antitrust law. In the Clayton Act, Congress exempted workers from antitrust principles. Congress specif... More »
s most readers of this blog know, the Ninth Circuit will soon be deciding Seattle’s authorization to implement its recently enacted ordinance, which permits collective bargaining among drivers in their bargains with Uber and similar firms. In March of last yea... More »
I link to an amicus curiae brief that was filed Friday in the Ninth Circuit appeal, Chamber of Commerce of the United States v. City of Seattle, No. 17-35640, with the help of Matthew J. Segel and Kymberly K. Evanson of the Pacifica Law Group. The brief offe... More »
The Supreme Court has been asked to reconsider whether arrangements requiring non-union employees in the public sector to pay fair share or agency fees violate the First Amendment of the Constitution. Yesterday, Mark Janus, an Illinois state employee, petitio... More »