Adi Kamdar is a student at Harvard Law School.
The New York Times has a thorough feature about how Uber is using “psychological tricks” to subtly control the drivers who use the service. The article focuses on how the company “solves” the problem of how it cannot exert too much control over its drivers—currently treated as independent contractors—by using inducements: alerts questioning decisions to log out of the app, reminders of monetary goals, and sending drivers their next ride even before their previous ride is over. In turning the app into a video game, the article—and several researchers it cites—argue that Uber is in reality asserting quite a bit of control over drivers.
California Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher plans to introduce a bill allowing gig economy workers—like Uber and Lyft drivers—to unionize, according to the Los Angeles Times. Fletcher introduced a bill last year attempting to do the same, but pulled it after facing both business and labor opposition. The California push comes at the heels of Seattle’s ordinance allowing ride-hailing drivers to unionize and New York City’s informal union affiliation.
Mother Jones has an article providing more detail into how a private prison company put detained immigrants to work without pay, leading to a lawsuit that was certified as a class action a little over a month ago. By using “voluntary” workers, the prison company—the GEO Group—plausibly saved hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The New York Times has investigated into five women who have received settlements from either Bill O’Reilly or Fox News after sexual harassment allegations against the cable news star. The two most recent of the five settlements, which are worth $13 million, came about after Fox News’ former chairman’s Roger Ailes was dismissed last summer in light of a sexual harassment scandal.
Daily News & Commentary
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November 28
Lawsuit against EEOC for failure to investigate disparate-impact claims dismissed; DHS to end TPS for Haiti; Appeal of Cemex decision in Ninth Circuit may soon resume
November 27
Amazon wins preliminary injunction against New York’s private sector bargaining law; ALJs resume decisions; and the CFPB intends to make unilateral changes without bargaining.
November 26
In today’s news and commentary, NLRB lawyers urge the 3rd Circuit to follow recent district court cases that declined to enjoin Board proceedings; the percentage of unemployed Americans with a college degree reaches its highest level since tracking began in 1992; and a member of the House proposes a bill that would require secret ballot […]
November 25
In today’s news and commentary, OSHA fines Taylor Foods, Santa Fe raises their living wage, and a date is set for a Senate committee to consider Trump’s NLRB nominee. OSHA has issued an approximately $1.1 million dollar fine to Taylor Farms New Jersey, a subsidiary of Taylor Fresh Foods, after identifying repeated and serious safety […]
November 24
Labor leaders criticize tariffs; White House cancels jobs report; and student organizers launch chaperone program for noncitizens.
November 23
Workers at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority vote to authorize a strike; Washington State legislators consider a bill empowering public employees to bargain over workplace AI implementation; and University of California workers engage in a two-day strike.