This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
How does this change flexibility? If you’re online to drive, you get paid. If you don’t, you won’t get paid.
Am I missing something?
From the article:
"They shouldn't have done this," Mendes told Insider. "Now they'll make us work whenever they want. Even though we're not employees, they're going to schedule us."
But also from the article:
Yet, many drivers pushed for the minimum wage, including the worker collective Los Deliveristas Unidos, who also advocated for recent laws that allow drivers to use restaurant restrooms and set delivery perimeters. One reason they advocate for higher wages is to cover the costs of gig work, such as vehicle repair, gas, tolls, and injuries. A 2022 report by the city found that delivery workers have high rates of injury while on the job.
It they are scheduled then they’re employees, no?
As I recall, the basic differences between employee and contractor are whether the employer can dictate time, place, and manner. The problem for gig "contractors" is that they're in a much tougher spot on exercising their rights, since not many people who can afford a lawyer deliver food. And they aren't exactly in short supply, so if Uber oversteps and individual "contractors" try to push back, they'll just be fired. Which gets back to the lawyer issue.
Uber, etc are very much a large enough targets for a class action lawsuit to force a behavior change.
(As an aside, I just got $137 back from the Yahoo class action suit, most I've ever seen from one)
