gig economy labor News

Judge Temporarily Blocks California Gig Worker Law for Truckers

A federal judge has temporarily blocked a California labor law meant to take effect Jan. 1 from impacting over 70,000 independent truckers by granting a ‘temporary restraining order.’ U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez in San Diego granted on Tuesday a …

UK Court Rules Contractor Entitled to Employment Rights in Test Case for Gig Economy

A London plumber who claimed he was unfairly dismissed after years of working as a contractor won a court ruling Wednesday [June 13] giving him employment rights, in a closely watched case testing labor rules in the so-called gig economy. …

Thai Authorities Begin Crackdown on Ride-Hailing Firms Uber, Grab

Thailand’s transport authorities have begun a crackdown on drivers for ride-hailing services Uber and Grab and want the military government to ban them, a transport official said on Tuesday. U.S.-based Uber has faced regulatory hurdles around the world and when …

Uber Drivers Are Employees, Not Freelancers, Says Swiss Insurance Agency

An Uber driver is an employee for which the company must pay social security contributions, a Swiss insurance agency has ruled, dealing a blow to the U.S. ride-hailing platform that says drivers are independent contractors. The California-based startup whose cab …

UK Uber Drivers’ Court Victory Over Pay Could Rejigger Gig Economy

Uber Technologies Inc. lost a lawsuit over pay and vacation time for U.K. drivers at the car-sharing service in a ruling that could change how workers are treated in the country’s burgeoning gig economy. Three London tribunal judges turned to …

As On-Demand Economy Grows, Professor Sees New Kind of Capitalism Emerging

It goes by many names: the “sharing economy,” the “gig economy,” the “on-demand economy.” Arun Sundararajan, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business who has been studying the phenomenon for several years, favors “crowd-based capitalism.” But he …

How Gig Economy Is Using Private Arbitration to Win on Labor Classification

Sharing economy workers’ best shot at suing to rewrite the rules of their employment may soon pass them by. As judges last Thursday considered settlements that will leave Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. drivers as independent contractors, two of …

Labor Unions Searching for Strategies to Join the Gig Economy

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers trumpeted an agreement reached earlier this month to represent New York Uber drivers, saying it “gives organized labor an opportunity to shape the new economy in a way that supports and values …