Tag Archives: Sharecropper Economy
Uber Should Be Suspended In California And Fined $7.3 Million, Judge Says
by Laura J. Nelson, Andrea Chang and Paresh Dave, Los Angeles Times
Uber — plagued by problems with regulators, drivers and taxi unions around the world — took a big blow in its home state Wednesday when an administrative judge recommended that the ride-sharing giant be fined $7.3 million and be suspended from operating in California. In her decision, chief administrative law judge Karen V. Clopton of the California Public Utilities Commission contended that Uber has not complied with state laws designed to ensure that drivers are doling out rides fairly to all passengers. Read More ›
Uber Data Collection Changes Should Be Barred, Privacy Group Urges
by Natasha Singer and Mike Isaac, The New York Times
A leading privacy rights group wants the Federal Trade Commission to prohibit Uber from instituting changes to its privacy policy that the group says will allow the ride-hailing app to collect more detailed data about customers’ whereabouts and use their contact lists to send their friends promotional pitches. … Uber’s reputation is still recovering from public censure last year after allegations surfaced that company employees had mishandled trip data about individual consumers to track their locations, and inappropriately shared an internal tool — colloquially known as “God view” — that showed users taking trips in real time. Read More ›
Uber Is Facing A Potentially Huge Blow In California
by Ben Geier, Fortune
In a decision that has the potential to alter — and perhaps cripple — Uber’s business model, the California Labor Commission has ruled that drivers for the ride-hailing service are employees of the company rather than independent contractors. Right now, as Business Insider notes, Uber faces virtually no expenses for the more than one million drivers who give rides using the service. If the ruling holds, though, all of those people become employees of the company, and that exposes Uber to such costs as Social Security, workers’ compensation, and unemployment insurance. Read More ›
Ridesharing Drivers Often Stuck In Insurance Limbo
by Alice Holbrook, NerdWallet
Uber executives’ access to customer ride logs came under scrutiny last year, when a company manager referenced a reporter’s log during an interview. Some users were also disturbed by Uber’s use of ride logs to compile a study on customer hookups in 2012. Critics complain that the bill would make essential functions of TNCs, like using GPS to locate passengers, illegal. But [Richard Holober, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California] likens the regulations to medical privacy laws. “Even in a hospital, not just everyone is allowed to look at your medical records.” Read More ›
Uber: Disability Laws Don’t Apply To Us
by Nina Strochlic, The Daily Beast
In three ADA-related cases over the past eight months, in California, Texas, and Arizona, Uber has been slammed with lawsuits that allege the company discriminates against blind and wheelchair-using passengers. The suits demand Uber abide by the ADA, but Uber claims that because it’s a technology company, not a transportation service, it doesn’t fall under the ADA’s jurisdiction. … The disability-rights movement is urging the courts and lawmakers to end the impunity. Read More ›
AB 886 (Chau) Protects Uber Passenger Privacy
SACRAMENTO – Assembly Bill 886 (Chau, D-Monterey Park) will protect the sensitive personal information and credit card records of passengers using transportation network companies (TNCs) such as Uber. Read More ›
Uber’s Business Model Could Change Your Work
by Farhad Manjoo, The New York Times
The rise of Uber-like jobs is the logical culmination of an economic and tech system that holds efficiency as its paramount virtue. … “Can you imagine if this turns into a Mechanical Turk economy, where everyone is doing piecework at all odd hours, and no one knows when the next job will come, and how much it will pay? What kind of private lives can we possibly have, what kind of relationships, what kind of families?” said Robert B. Reich, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley who was the secretary of labor during the Clinton administration. Read More ›
Key Issues For Returning California Legislature
by Jeremy B. White and Laurel Rosenhall, The Sacramento Bee
Expect debates about consumer data, Internet privacy and regulation of some Web-based businesses to loom large this session. The tech lobby beefed up its presence in Sacramento last year, with the Internet Association opening an office here – its first office outside Washington, D.C. The group was instrumental in rallying ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft to oppose legislation increasing their insurance requirements. A similar effort to regulate home-sharing services is likely to emerge in the Legislature this year. … The Assembly has established a new committee devoted to privacy and consumer protection, chaired by Assemblyman Mike Gatto. Read More ›
When It’s Time To Flee, Uber Raises Its Rates
by C.W. Nevius, San Francisco Chronicle
Is this just a dumb public relations miscue, or is this just the new model for startup culture? … Rather than anticipate the problem — recognize that surge pricing in an emergency is not a good policy — companies like Uber would rather just put the pedal to the metal and deal with the speed bumps when they come up. Speed bumps like these: San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón sues Uber over what he says are inadequate driver background checks. Portland, Ore., declared Uber illegal, citing a lack of adequate insurance, among other things. Uber has been sued in Madrid and banned in New Delhi. Read More ›
Fatal Accident Tests Lyft’s $1 Million Insurance Policy
by Carolyn Said, San Francisco Chronicle
While a driver is providing a ride or on the way to pick up a passenger, Lyft offers $1 million in liability insurance, and $1 million in uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. … California legislators recently passed a bill to require coverage when a driver is logged into the companies’ apps but hasn’t yet been matched with a passenger. The mandated coverage, set to take effect July 1, would top off at $200,000. Read More ›
The Sharing Economy: 21st Century Technology, 19th Century Worker Protections
by Amanda Armstrong, In These Times
Uber’s intensive lobbying over the summer reduced AB 2293 to a shadow of its original self. As noted by the Consumer Federation of California, in its final form the bill establishes insurance minimums far below those required of taxi, limo, and other companies that provide similar services. But the bill was flawed even at its inception, as it never sought to protect workers. AB 2293 makes drivers legally responsible for carrying liability insurance for passengers, pedestrians, and other motorists, while withholding from drivers and their family members guarantees of compensation or support in the event that they are injured or killed on the job. Read More ›