The “independent contractor” scam gets a lease on life

Ridesharing

It’s been the better part of a year since the California State Supreme Court handed down a ruling that’s been widely understood to mean Uber and Lyft drivers likely are employees, putting an end to the “independent contractor” scam that capitalists have used to rip off workers for a while.[1] Now it appears that the National Labor Relations Board favors that very scam.[2] The Board is not a federal court and the California ruling applies only in California. I do not know how the rulings interact.

Laura Bliss, “Another Study Blames Uber and Lyft for Public Transit’s Decline,” CityLab, January 24, 2019, https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2019/01/uber-lyft-ride-hailing-impact-public-transit-ridership/581062/

Alison Griswold, “The Trump presidency is paying off bigly for Uber,” Quartz, January 26, 2019, https://qz.com/1534331/uber-wins-big-in-supershuttle-ruling-made-by-trump-appointed-nlrb/


Unauthorized migration

Kevin Liptak, Dana Bash, and Jim Acosta, “Inside the White House, aides and advisers are despondent over a wasted month,” CNN, January 26, 2019, https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/01/26/politics/white-house-aides-despondent/index.html


  1. [1]City Attorney of San Francisco, “Herrera investigates Uber, Lyft over driver pay and benefits,” PR Newswire, May 29, 2018, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/herrera-investigates-uber-lyft-over-driver-pay-and-benefits-300655892.html; Lydia DePillis, “California ruling puts pressure on Uber, Lyft and other gig economy employers,” CNN, May 1, 2018,http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/01/news/economy/california-gig-employer-ruling/index.html; Bryan Menegus, “San Francisco Subpoenas Uber and Lyft for Proof Drivers Aren’t Employees,” Gizmodo, May 29, 2018, https://gizmodo.com/san-francisco-subpoenas-uber-and-lyft-for-proof-drivers-1826398148; Heather Somerville, “San Francisco subpoenas Uber, Lyft on driver classification,” Reuters, May 29, 2018, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ridehailing-sanfrancisco/san-francisco-subpoenas-uber-lyft-on-driver-classification-idUSKCN1IU2IX
  2. [2]Alison Griswold, “The Trump presidency is paying off bigly for Uber,” Quartz, January 26, 2019, https://qz.com/1534331/uber-wins-big-in-supershuttle-ruling-made-by-trump-appointed-nlrb/