The underlying issue is RAMPANT employee misclassification. Most of these people aren’t contractors, they are just illegally misclassified.
gig workers are being unfairly terminated, or “deactivated,” as the companies call it.
I, for one, loathe our new techbro overlords.
Workers being exploited is nothing new though. Same overlords, different labels.
My DoorDasher picked up my order the other day and went to a mall parking lot and sat there for an hour until the order was cancelled since DD couldn’t get ahold of them. They presumably ate it. They should be deactivated. Bad workers shouldn’t get extra protections.
Right to work doesn’t apply to contractors. You have a contract.
If you get deactivated without cause, sue.
edit: Right to work lets employees be fired without cause. Contracts can’t be breached as easily so deactivation without cause isn’t legal. Suing is easy. File a complaint with your state labor board or department of labor. The gig corp will want to settle so precedent doesn’t get set in court and lead to a big class action.
I did this to Instacart when they violated state labor laws They asked to settle. Mediation is next week so no idea yet how much they will settle for. 40k is the average for these types of cases.
I have never done a gig job but I don’t think they really have a contract. That’s the whole problem is it’s smoke and mirrors.
I’m open to gig jobs but I think they need more regulation to make sure the workers are not abused.
Also suing is easier said than done. They have Billions. Uber would fight it in court since you couldn’t afford to take it there
It’s actually easy. I sued Instacart for something similar.
Lodged a complaint with the state. Instacart asked to settle. Didn’t cost me a dime.
They know they’re in the wrong. It’s cheaper for them to settle. Even if they have billions they don’t want a big lawsuit. If they lose a lawsuit instead of settling out of court it sets precedent that could end their whole gig economy bullshit in a big class action.
Gig jobs with regulations are just normal job. Why do people support adding complexity to an already complex system?
Not really. It’s a work for hire and not a W2 job. They’re paid 1099. We already have regulations around 1099 workers and we need more
Washington does not have “right to work” laws.
You are mistaken.
Okay.
My point was contractors cannot be fired at will, even in right to work states where regular employees can be.
So, deactivating gig workers without cause is a breach of contract. Which you can easily sue for. And these assholes know they’re wrong, so they will want to settle out of court. You don’t even need a lawyer.
‘Right to work’ has to do with not being required to be in a Union in order to get a job (ie, you have a right to work at a location whether you’re in the union or not).
Right to work is bullshit and definitely helped in gutting the unions, but, I’m not sure how that has to do with anything to do with gig workers at all.
It doesn’t; this guy is just unaware of what ‘right to work’ means (admittedly, it’s a deliberately obtuse name), and seems to have no willingness to entertain the possibility that he might not know something.
Right to work allows employment at will. Meaning you can be fired without cause.
My point is it doesn’t apply to contractors and deactivating someone without cause is a breach of contract.
Do a quick Google search for “right to work vs at will employment” because you’ve got them mixed up.
Additionally, the gig folks don’t have a contract that protects them and they’re being classified as contractors when (it’s being argued) they shouldn’t be. That’s literally the issue.
Right to work refers specifically to laws that make mandatory union membership illegal. It has absolutely nothing to do with at-will employment, termination, or anything relevant here.
It does more than that. It lets you quit and be fired at will.
This doesn’t apply to contractors and gig jobs firing contractors without cause is a breach of contract.
Again, that is not what ‘right to work’ means. You are talking about ‘at-will’ employment, which is a completely different topic that is essentially unrelated.
Yes, it’s a deliberately obtuse name.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-to-work_law
Note the “Not to be confused with At-will employment.” bit at the top. This isn’t really a debatable matter, so cheers. Have an enjoyable read.
Thanks. I will check out the link and I appreciate the kind correction.
Yes, use your piles of cash and unlimited time to get what you’re already owed. Perfect system, you’re right.
I sued Instacart over violation of state employment laws.
Lodged a complaint with the state and Instacart asked to settle in mediation
Cost me nothing and I didn’t even hire a lawyer.
Time?
