California passes landmark bill that requires gig economy workers to be treated as employees, going into effect Jan 1, affecting companies like Uber and Lyft
what's next? Mathew Katz / Digital Trends : Uber says drivers aren't an essential part of its business Danielle Abril / Fortune : Uber, Lyft, and Other Gig Economy Companies Push Back on New California Employment Law Kia Kokalitcheva / Axios : Uber remains confident in face of California gig worker bill Shirin Ghaffary / Vox : Uber and Lyft say they don't plan to reclassify their drivers as employees Mariella Moon / Engadget : California is close to reclassifying gig economy workers as employees Dara Kerr / CNET : California bill could reset the rules for the gig economy around the country Aarian Marshall / Wired : In California, Gig Workers Are About to Become Employees Edward Ongweso Jr / VICE : Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash Plan to Spend $90 Million to Undo a Law That Protects Their Workers PYMNTS.com : California's New Labor Bill Gets Pushback From Uber Maria Deutscher / SiliconANGLE : California Senate passes bill to classify Uber, Lyft drivers as employees Namerah Saud Fatmi / Neowin : California bill identifies gig economy workers as employees Alexia Fernández Campbell / Vox : Gig workers' win in California is a victory for workers everywhere Shawn Knight / TechSpot : California Senate approves bill that requires gig economy workers to be reclassified as employees Elizabeth Lopatto / The Verge : California Senate passes bill to limit the gig economy Bloomberg : California Senate Passes Labor Bill Set to Transform Gig Economy Elliot Hannon / Slate : California Passes Ride-Share Bill That Could Upend the Gig Economy Bryan Menegus / Gizmodo : Gig Workers Win in California BBC : California passes landmark gig economy rights bill New York Times : Uber Lays Off Hundreds More Workers as It Struggles to Make Money Faiz Siddiqui / Washington Post : California Senate passes ride-hail bill that has divided Democrats over the future of Uber and Lyft drivers Kelly Earley / Silicon Republic : Uber's latest woes: California's AB-5 and hundreds of lay-offs Ravie Lakshmanan / The Next Web : California passes landmark gig workers' rights bill — here's what that means Brandy Betz / Seeking Alpha : Uber, Lyft gain after California governor's comments Gabrielle Canon / USA Today : California's controversial labor bill has passed. Experts forecast more worker rights, higher prices for services Quartz : The California Senate has voted to end the gig economy as we know it Liam Dillon / Los Angeles Times : Sweeping bill on independent contractors passes California state Senate Andrew Wyrich / The Daily Dot : California takes first step to reclassify gig economy workers VentureBeat : California Senate passes bill to define more gig economy workers as employees Manish Singh / TechCrunch : California passes landmark bill that requires Uber and Lyft to treat their drivers as employees Kia Kokalitcheva / Axios : California gig workers bill clears major step Dara Kerr / CNET : Uber, Lyft drivers are one step closer to becoming employees in California Tweets: Cyrus Farivar / @cfarivar : Today, @lyft sent this to drivers. It states that drivers “may soon be required to drive specific shifts, stick to specific areas, and drive for only a single platform (such as Lyft, Uber, Doordash, or others).” FYI: #AB5 does not have any such language. (h/t @ChristianJPerea) pic.twitter.com/dOWd9FqljN Jordan Weissmann / @jhweissmann : If the drivers aren't a core part of Uber's business, then I guess the company wouldn't mind if they went on strike https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/... Jane Kim / @janekim : Um let's think about this. If everyone who drives for Uber stopped tomorrow, Uber wouldn't notice! The rides are core to Uber's business. Yes it's not just the ride but the data collected from rides. None of this happens without the drivers #workersbuildwealth so share it #AB5 https://twitter.com/... Lorena / @lorenasgonzalez : Let's clarify a few things: First #AB5 does not require any company to make an employee a full time worker. They are simply are required to abide by wage & hour laws, workers comp, etc. This can be done with a worker who works 4 hours a week or 40 hours a week. 1/ Prem Sikka / @premnsikka : California to give minimum wage, sick pay, holidays & other rights to ‘gig economy’ workers. For far too long companies like Uber & others have exploited workers. UK Labour Party has also promised the give gig workers the same rights as full-time workers. https://www.npr.org/... Rep. Joe Kennedy III / @repjoekennedy : Denying employees health care, a livable wage & retirement benefits shouldn't be a legal corporate strategy baked into profit margins. It can't solely be corporations determining the future of work. Good for California to show us the way, time for federal government to step up. https://twitter.com/... Gig Workers Rising / @gigworkersrise : Thank you for supporting AB5, @ewarren. Your support was a great help. Please keep helping us to make sure it is enforced and we get a strong independent union. https://twitter.com/... Kshama Sawant / @cmkshama : Congratulations to @GigWorkersRise @_drivers_united and all California Uber and Lyft drivers for organizing this huge historic #AB5 win! The foundation for union rights, living wages, benefits, and transparency, and a victory against exploitation! https://gizmodo.com/... Katie Moussouris / @k8em0 : Bug bounties also violate labor laws, as I have warned for years. “Gig-type work has been under the spotlight for years as companies like Uber... have grown into behemoths even as the contractors they relied on did not receive the benefits or minimum pay guaranteed to employees” https://twitter.com/... Kate O'Neill / @kateo : This is a big deal. It's going to be hated and fought by many companies, especially as it sets a precedent for more states and other governments worldwide to follow suit, but it's a step in the right direction for adequate human worker protections. https://twitter.com/... @stevenjduffield : Oh, and consumer welfare. California has several counties with more than 10% unemployment and *this* is what the legislature is spending its time doing: taking away part time employment, and driving up consumer prices. https://twitter.com/... @tedfrank : I don't see how this doesn't push the value of Uber or Lyft to zero. Calif. employment law impossible to comply with under current driver contracts, and the wealth transfer to lawyers will be huge. // California Passes Landmark Bill to Remake Gig Economy https://www.nytimes.com/... Yonah Freemark / @yfreemark : State Senator Maria Elena Durazo: “Let's be clear: there is nothing innovative about underpaying someone for their labor.” https://twitter.com/... Vail Kohnert-Yount / @vailkoyo : “Uber & Lyft have repeatedly warned that they will have to start scheduling drivers in advance if they are employees, reducing drivers' ability to work when and where they want. Experts said that there is nothing in the bill that requires employees to work set shifts...” https://twitter.com/... George Dearing / @georgedearing : “Today the so-called gig companies present themselves as the innovative future of tomorrow, a future where companies don't pay Social Security or Medicare—Let's be clear: there is nothing innovative about underpaying someone for their labor.” | #gigeconomy https://www.nytimes.com/... Elizabeth Nolan Brown / @enbrown : No words for how stupid & self-defeating this is https://www.nytimes.com/... Ernie Tedeschi / @ernietedeschi : I'd say the days of Uber profiting off of cheap labor are numbered, but Uber doesn't strictly “profit” does it https://twitter.com/... Nakul Shetty / @nakulshetty88 : “In California, the legislation will affect at least 1 million workers who have been on the receiving end of a decade long trend of outsourcing & franchising work, making employer-worker relationships more arm's-length” This is going to be big $UBER $LYFT #startups #gigeconomy https://twitter.com/... Joe Gill / @joegill1987 : Very big news for 🇺🇸 as far as the #gigeconomy - will we see more pro-employee laws in 🇨🇦 as a response to the same concerns? https://twitter.com/... @eveewing : Watch them ramp up the push for driverless cars https://twitter.com/... Lily Jamali / @lilyjamali : Eek... not a “new law” just yet (but getting pretty close) https://twitter.com/... Rob / @robdaemon : Classifying someone as a permanent contractor is no longer acceptable. Give your employees benefits and pay them a living wage or go out of business. The gig economy has been nothing but a way to extort labor. https://twitter.com/... Sameer Patel / @sameerpatel : Their have their own issues but come IPO time, @airbnb, @turo and others will look a lot more certain with respect to unit economics. https://twitter.com/... Owen Thomas / @owenthomas : AB5, which turns California gig workers into employees, has passed the Senate, making it very close to becoming law, @CSaid and @dustingardiner report. Gig workers at Uber, Lyft, Postmates, DoorDash and others are affected. tip @Techmeme https://www.sfchronicle.com/ ... Noam Scheiber / @noamscheiber : It's (basically) done—California has transformed the gig economy in a historic vote late Tuesday. Our story: https://www.nytimes.com/...