The Massachusetts settlement with Uber and Lyft marks a substantial improvement over the companies’ withdrawn ballot measure.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.
Uber
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 inCourts
SJC takes another swing at Uber ‘clickwrap’ contracts
Are the current “terms and conditions” details that ride-share passengers must agree to sufficient, or are they signing away certain legal rights without enough notice?
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
SJC says Uber agreements with riders unenforceable
THE AGREEMENT UBER users must sign before registering with the ride-hailing service – the detailed fine print listed under “terms and conditions” – is not binding in Massachusetts because it is not provided to users in a clear and conspicuous way, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Monday. “The app’s registration process did not provide users with reasonable notice […]
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 […]