This is important. We’re at risk of the “gig economy” undoing over a century of hard fought gains in workers rights. Minimum wage laws, unemployment, etc, these are good things that should be preserved.<p>Uber has clearly shown that they’re happy to be as exploitative as they’re allowed to be. (And that even when they’re specifically disallowed they’ll do everything they can to ignore it and fight the laws.)
Deciding to drive for Uber is a mutually beneficial transaction between consenting adults (or an adult and a company). If the driver wasn't benefiting, they'd do something else.<p>Well-intentioned (by some people, prob most people on HN) and not so well-intentioned (anti-competitive lobbying by taxis) efforts to make the relationship less "exploitative" are likely doing more harm than good.<p>What happens when the gov mandates all these extra benefits? "Drivers WILL earn more money!" The answer is some combination of: Uber becomes costlier, people take fewer rides (or growth is slower than it should be), and some people who are perfectly willing and able to drive right now are unable to do so. Or (if demand is more inelastic) a bunch of new drivers decide the new benefits make it worth entering the market, and not everyone who wants to drive can/people sit around idle, etc.<p>Either way, you're hurting consumers and many existing drivers.
I can understand filing for benefits if you were terminated by Uber (first one was for low ratings) but one of the plaintiffs quit because of low pay. Quitting for non egregious reasons (bad work environment, harassment, etc) is usually a blocker for filing for claims.
This is absolutely ridiculous and just more cronyism on behalf of the taxi companies. Uber and Lyft drivers are definitively independent contractors. There is no legitimate argument otherwise, and pretending like they are is just showing the bias of these bureaucrats.
I find it so funny when the state/government requires businesses to compensate people in some minimal way. If you think people need X dollars or Y benefits to live a comfortable life, why don't <i>you</i> give it to them?<p>/rant
How is this not going to result in even lower take home pay for drivers? Uber does not have the margins to absorb the cost. They will certainly pass it on the drivers. They could increase pricing, but that dampens demand, which given how many drivers are out there, could be really bad for driver utilization and hourly earnings.