The Massachusetts settlement with Uber and Lyft marks a substantial improvement over the companies’ withdrawn ballot measure. But the state and the voters can and should do more to help gig drivers.
Lyft
Posted inBallot Questions
Ballot question fundraising and spending largely hidden from public view
In contrast to state election laws governing candidates for office, which require regular reporting throughout the year on campaign donations and expenditures, ballot question committees operate under relatively lax reporting requirements.
Posted inCourts
Uber, Lyft say they aren’t transportation companies, liken themselves to travel agents
The latest leg in a multi-front worker classification fight kicked off in Suffolk Superior Court on Monday, with the start of Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s lawsuit against ride-share giants Uber and Lyft.
Posted inTransportation
App-based drivers make push for a union
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE EVERYONE IN the State House and surrounding area of downtown Boston heard app-based drivers calls Wednesday afternoon for collective bargaining rights — or at least they heard their car horns. After an election cycle where ride-hailing and food delivery drivers’ rights were originally planned to be on the ballot, drivers for […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Courts, Economy
SJC throws out Uber-Lyft ballot question
THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT on Tuesday threw out a ballot question that would classify ride-share drivers as independent contractors, putting a sudden end to what was primed to be an enormously expensive ballot campaign that was already gaining national attention. In a 31-page unanimous decision written by Justice Scott Kafker, the court concluded that the […]
Posted inEconomy
For Dems, a ballot question brouhaha
THERE WILL BE no table after all at the Democratic State Convention promoting ride-share companies’ position on a hotly contested November ballot question. A brewing intra-party battle over plans by the campaign funded by the companies to have an informational table at Saturday’s gathering of Massachusetts Democrats in Worcester was starting to grab attention – […]
Posted inEconomy
Rideshare ballot showdown poses ‘unusual’ question
MASSACHUSETTS HAS A long history of putting complicated policy questions that lawmakers have been unable to resolve to a direct vote in statewide elections. This fall looks like it will be no exception, as the marquee ballot question that voters may face involves how state employment law should treat drivers for “gig” economy platforms like […]
Posted inEconomy
Healey sues Uber, Lyft for misclassifying drivers
ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against ride-hailing platforms Uber and Lyft accusing them of misclassifying drivers as independent contractors instead of employees. “Uber and Lyft have gotten a free ride for far too long,” Healey said. “For years, they have systematically denied drivers basic workplace protections and benefits and profited greatly […]
Posted inEconomy
Limits on independent contracting hurt employers and workers
CARING FOR A tsunami of patients in the midst of a pandemic is hard enough. Unfortunately, laws in Massachusetts and California make the job even harder by preventing hospitals and all other employers from contracting with self-employed individuals for work if they bring skills that fall within the buyer’s “usual course of business.” A health […]
Posted inTransportation
Massport: New Uber/Lyft drop-offs will speed Logan travel
THE MASSACHUSETTS PORT AUTHORITY staged a dry run on Wednesday to demonstrate how a centralized location for Uber and Lyft pickups and drop-offs will work at Logan International Airport. With the ambitious play to reduce airport congestion set to start phasing in on Monday, Massport conducted a mock drop-off and pickup in the newly renovated […]