Independent Contractor or Employee?

Too many people sign up for gig economy platforms, agree to terms that say they are doing so as an independent contractor,, and yet still think they're working as an employee. We examine the differences and why it's important to understand what it means to be a contractor before providing services for Doordash, Uber, Instacart or any other platform.

We look at exploitation of independent contractors. Gig economy companies like Doordash, Uber, Instacart and others exploit the independent contractor classification, but that doesn't mean a contractor has to be exploited. We discuss how one can remain in control of their business and protect against being exploited.

Several Dashers tried to organize a nationwide strike against Doordash in July, 2021. On the Deiver on Your Business podcast, we discussed whether this could be successful and the issues of organizing independent contractors in the gig economy.

Written while the California legilsature was considering AB5, we discussed how it could impact contractors both in California and throughout the country.

Examining how delivery companies like Doordash, Uber Eats, Grubhub and others stand up to the ABC test that is part of California's AB5.

What would happen to delivery contractors if AB5 passes? We explain what would happen to contractors, what that means for employee status, and what it could mean for opportunities to continue delivering for gig economy companies.

Article written once AB5 was passed into law. We discuss what independent contractors could expect to happen next.

When AB5 passed, many contractors thought this would change things nationally. We discussed how AB5 was limited to California contractors, and what the nationwide fallout could be.

My commentary on the biggest problems I saw with California's AB5 law.

My commentary on why I thought something needs to be done in the gig economy related to how delivery and rideshare companies exploit the independent contractor status.

An overview article on how I thought AB5 could impact gig economy contractors, and what contractors in California could expect going forward.

Article written in anticipation of AB5 becoming law effective January 1, 2020. We discussed what would happen, whether things would immediately change on January 1, and how things would play out for companies like Doordash, Grubhub, Uber and Lyft.

In August, 2020, California courts were ruling that Uber and Lyft had to cease using independent contractors. Appeals were exhausted and the companies were threatening to pull out of California. We discussed what was happening and what that would mean for delivery and rideshare workers.

As Proposition 22 was being introduced, we discussed what the proposition was, how the pay worked, and how it would impact delivery and rideshare contractors.

As Proposition 22 was about to be voted on by the people of Califorina, we discussed the implications of whether it passes or not.

In August, 2021, California Superior Court judge Frank Roesch ruled that California's Prop 22 decision was unconstitutional. We dove into the details of the court decision and discussed what that decision would mean to gig economy contractors.

We examine what the newly proposed Department of Labor rule on Independent Contractors is and how it compares to previous interpretations of independent contractor status within the Department of Labor

We examine delivery and rideshare gigs, and compare them to the new independent contractor rules being proposed by the Department of Labor.

We examine what to expect if the proposed Department of Labor rule on Independent Contractors becomes final. Will that force companies to use employees? What kind of timeline can gig workers expect?

As part of the process for adopting new rules, the Deapartment of Labor sought out public comments. I published the comments that I submitted, discussing what I felt about the new rule and why.

Federal legislation called Pro Act has been introduced that would, among other things, use the ABC test to determine whether a worker is an employee under the National Labor Relations Act. We examine what the legislation says about gig work and what the impact would be if it was passed.

We examine a National Labor Relations Board ruling that Postmates contractors were indeed independent contractors. We examined the reason for their decision and what it means for contractors with other platforms.

In March, 2020, New York's Court of Appeals ruled that Postmates couriers in the state were employees for the purposes of unemployment claims. We discuss what this ruling means and how it could impact the landscape for delivery contractors in partiular.