Skip to main content

Gig Companies Win the Prop 22 Battle, But the Nationwide Fight Continues

 

Readers will recall that California’s Prop 22, passed earlier this month, saw California voters approving a ballot measure to exclude gig companies from the reach of AB 5.  That means in California, gig workers for companies like Uber, Lyft, Instacart, Door Dash, etc. do not fall within the scope of AB 5 and therefore are classified as independent contractors rather than employees. As a result, with these gig workers not being classified as employees, they are not eligible for a minimum wage rate, overtime pay, unemployment, etc.

As I had noted following the vote, this was a major victory for gig companies.  However, that victory might be short lived.  Even with the passage of Prop 22, gig companies are not out of the woods yet.  For starters, pro worker groups are looking for ways to challenge the outcome of Prop 22 in court.  Whether those challenges prove successful is too early to know but it could tie up Prop 22 for months or years to come.  And of course, let us not forget a host of litigation that has been brought against Uber & Lyft by several states.

On top of that, there is a patch work of application of the employee vs. independent contractor status across the country.  Some states such as New York, Illinois, and New Jersey have found some gig workers must be considered employees for unemployment insurance purposes.  In at least one state, New York, there have been suggestions that a compromise could be made with gig companies rather than engage in a prolonged fight.

Of course, do not forget that with a new administration taking office in January, it is certainly possible (if not probable) that this new administration will rally around workers.  That could lead to employee friendly appointees at eh Labor Department, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and National Labor Relations Board.  Those appointees could shape the policy of these agencies by issuing worker friendly guidance, issuing decisions that favor employee status for gig workers, and issuing pro-gig worker opinion letters, among other steps.

If I were a gig company, I would certainly be pleased with the outcome of Prop 22...but also be turning my eye down the road for the fight ahead.


For additional information:  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/11/business/economy/california-gig-workers-ballot-uber-lyft.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum,...
Post a Comment
Read more

San Diego Rolls Back Vaccine Mandate For City Workers

Last Tuesday, the San Diego City Council voted to do away with the vaccine mandate for city employees. The city’s vaccine mandate that was in place required city workers to get the coronavirus vaccine or risk termination.  Perhaps to this surprise of no one, the city’s policy came under fire with 14 employees being terminated and over 100 other employees resigning.  With the coronavirus subsiding, including in Southern California, the San Diego City Council took action. Now, bear in mind, the repeal of the vaccine mandate does not take place immediately. With that being said, the mandate will be repealed March 8th.  I suppose the question now is, what other cities or regions follow San Diego’s lead? For additional information:   https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2023-01-24/san-diego-repeals-controversial-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-citing-drop-in-cases-hospitalizations
Post a Comment
Read more

NLRB: Former Employee Cannot Be Barred From Work Premises After Filing Wage Suit

MEI-GSR Holdings, LLC - NLRB Facts :  MEI-GSR Holdings, LLC d/b/a Grand Sierra Resort & Casino ("GSR") operated a facility that included a hotel, casino, restaurant, clubs, bars, and a pool which were all open to the general public.  Tiffany Sargent ("Sargent") was briefly employed by GSR as a "beverage supervisor" in December of 2012.  After her employment ended, Sargent continued to socialize at one of the clubs.  GSR had a long standing practice of allowing former employees to patronize its facility and did not prohibit Sargent from doing so.  In June of 2013, Sargent and another employee filed a class and collective action against GSR for alleged unpaid wages, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and Nevada law.  In July of 2014, GSR denied Sargent access to an event at one of the clubs.  GSR followed up with a letter and stated that with the on-going litigation (from the wage suit), it decided to bar Sargent from the premises. ...
1 comment
Read more