Monday morning musings for workplace watchers.
Success Down South | IC Rulemaking Reboot
Chris Marr: Ride-hailing and delivery app companies such as Uber Technologies Inc. and DoorDash Inc. just got a little more legal protection in the South for classifying their drivers as independent contractors—with new laws taking effect in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.
In Alabama and Georgia, new state laws clarify that drivers for app-based transportation and delivery networks aren’t classified as employees, as long as the app companies meet certain criteria such as allowing the drivers freedom in what hours they work and which ride or delivery requests to accept. The companies also can’t ban their drivers from driving for other companies or holding other jobs. Both laws took effect July 1.
The changes in the laws are relatively small wins for the ride-hailing and delivery app industry in the wide-ranging legal fight over worker classification. The industry celebrated compromise legislation enacted in Washington state earlier this year to keep ride-hailing drivers classified as independent contractors while granting them certain benefits such as minimum pay per trip and paid sick time. It faced a setback in Massachusetts in June, when the state’s high court struck down a proposed ballot initiative that would have asked voters to approve a similar scheme of independent status but with benefits.
Georgia’s new gig worker provisions are part of a broader measure that potentially...
IDAHO — A woman previously ordered to pay $10 million in damages for making false claims about a professor’s role in the 2022 killings of four students at the University of Idaho has filed an appe...