Uber and Lyft drivers are bracing for a shutdown in California, one of the rideshare companies’ largest markets. For drivers it is a bittersweet moment. One that couldn’t come at a worse time and yet holds the promise of a better future. The coronavirus pandemic has hit so-called gig economy workers hard and ramped up…
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Like many people in recent months, AnnaLiisa Ariosa-Benston of Brooklyn has seen her primary sources of income transform in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. An arts event producer, she now is picking up odd jobs in renovation and design to make money. And to do so, she has found – for the first time…
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A California judge has issued a preliminary injunction that would block Uber and Lyft from classifying their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. The move on Monday came in response to a May lawsuit filed by the state of California against the companies, which alleged they are misclassifying their drivers under the state’s new…
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The ride-hailing platform Lyft has opened an online store to sell masks and other protective gear as the Covid-19 pandemic intensifies, enraging drivers and labor organizers who say the company should be providing these free. The tech company’s move to sell drivers protective gear rather than provide it resurfaces the debate of whether drivers are…
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The economic fallout from the coronavirus has come to Silicon Valley, with major tech firms announcing layoffs in recent weeks. On Wednesday, Uber became the latest company to announce cuts, revealing in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it will lay off 3,700 workers – roughly 14% of its global workforce. Uber…
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California is suing Uber and Lyft, alleging they misclassified their drivers as independent contractors under the state’s new labor law, in the most significant challenge to the ride-hailing companies’ employment model to date. Xavier Becerra, the state’s attorney general, announced the lawsuit Tuesday during a news conference. The labor law, known as AB5 and considered…
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