Slashdot Mirror
California Overturns Uber's Appeal: Its Drivers Are Employees, Not Contractors
An anonymous reader writes: Uber's third attempt to overturn a California court ruling stating that its drivers are employees and not contractors has ended in failure, with the appeal dismissed by the California Employment Development Department (EDD). The California Labor Commission ruled in June on the matter, and in a later appeal one judge effectively decided that the difference between 'firing' a driver and deactivating their account is purely semantic.
Does EBAY, facebook, or youtube prevent you from selling your products if they dont like who you are selling them too? Or dont use specific things? methinks you did not read the article.
When you cant win, ad hominem.
Anyone who accepts restrictions from a company and yet doesn't want full labor protection of an employee is either totally naive about how tenuous their situation really is, or is experiencing desperation brought on by a totally shitty economy. Either way, I applaud the California decision, because corporations should not be taking advantage of either.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
Uber would have been better off arguing that it's drivers are customers, who sign up for a service that allows them to earn money. The people who ride in the cars aren't the customers, they are the product.
Because the worker doesn't have the negotiating power. The current case is the one that proves your point. Some Uber workers want to be contractors, others want to be employees. But it doesn't matter what they want. Uber declared them to be contractors and they have no recourse except the government. An easier example is if I hold a gun to your head and demand your wallet. Yes you voluntarily gave it to me, but it's still not acceptable. The government is simply defending the powerless here the same way as police defend mugging victims.
There are all sorts of arguments about why Uber should or shouldn't have to act like a traditional taxi company. But in my opinion, that's less important than this question, for the broader economy and labor force. Social media, tech publications, and even the MBA rags have had all sorts of glowing stories about the "gig economy." Basically, they argue that the flexibility offered to workers by allowing them to string together contract jobs to make income outweighs the stability of traditional employment. Uber is cited as an example on the low end, day laborer style side, and of course, high flying "technology consultants" making $150+ an hour are put up as shining examples of why this should be the future of employment.
I'm far from a Luddite, but I'm a big believer in stability. Especially as you acquire a family and grown-up responsibilities, life in the US revolves around a steady income, health insurance and a way to save for retirement. The high-flying tech consultants can arrange for these things, but lately I've been seeing more of these cheerleading articles advocating for all employees to switch to this model. Most average employees don't have the motivation or skills to market themselves the way these consultants do, and they may lack the skills that would make them good contractor candidates.
It just seems to me that companies want a disposable labor force that they don't need to pay benefits, vacation, etc. for. Basically, they want to go back to a pre-Depression era where workers just turn up at the factory gates every morning and hope to get work. That may be appealing to Millenials who don't have any family ties and will move at the drop of a hat. If we have to go this way, then things like real estate transactions need to be streamlined, life has to be restructured around variable income levels, etc. and I think society isn't ready for it yet.
from TFA:
According to the administrative law judge who heard the first appeal, Uber has sole discretion over fares, and can charge drivers a cancellation fee if they choose not to take a ride, prohibit drivers from picking up passengers not using the app and suspend or deactivate drivers' accounts.
Based on that, "there was in fact an employer/employee relationship", according to the decision.
I agree with the judge on one point: if they were independent contractors, they would be free to pickup passengers not using Uber.