Court Rules in Favor of California: Uber and Lyft Drivers are Employees

Quinci LeGardye, California Black Media 

Statewide — On Aug. 10, a California Superior Court judge ruled that rideshare companies Uber and Lyft must change the classification of their drivers from independent contractors to employees.

The ruling was a major victory for California lawmakers in their yearlong struggle to enforce AB 5, the controversial worker classification bill that went into effect Jan. 1.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman ruled in favor of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s argument that Uber and Lyft are violating AB 5, which says workers can only be considered independent contractors if they perform duties outside the usual course of a company’s business.

“The court has weighed in and agreed: Uber and Lyft need to put a?stop to unlawful misclassification of their drivers while our litigation continues,”?said Becerra.?“While this fight still has a long way to go, we’re pushing ahead to make sure the people of California get the workplace protections they deserve. Our state and workers shouldn’t have to foot the bill when big businesses try to skip out on their responsibilities. We’re going to keep working to make sure Uber and Lyft play by the rules.”

Schulman paused the injunction for 10 days to give the companies a chance to appeal the decision. Both companies made statements Aug. 9 saying that they will appeal the ruling.

An Uber spokesperson said, “The vast majority of drivers want to work independently, and we’ve already made significant changes to our app to ensure that remains the case under California law. When over 3 million Californians are without a job, our elected leaders should be focused on creating work, not trying to shut down an entire industry during an economic depression.”

“Ultimately, we believe this issue will be decided by California voters and that they will side with drivers,” Lyft said, referring to Prop 22, the upcoming ballot measure. Voters will decide Nov. 3 if rideshare drivers in California can remain contractors or if they have to become W-2 employees;  

Becerra, along with the City Attorneys of San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, filed their worker misclassification lawsuit against Uber and Lyft on May 5, followed by the motion for a preliminary injunction on June 24.

“This is a resounding victory for thousands of?Uber?and Lyft drivers who are working hard — and, in this pandemic, incurring risk every day — to provide for their families,”?said Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer.??”Of course, our fight is not over and we will vigorously pursue this litigation until these workers have the permanent protection they?deserve.”??

“Misclassification hurts drivers and it puts the burden on taxpayers to pay for benefits that Uber and Lyft should be providing,”?said San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera.?“These companies have pocketed millions of dollars by leaving taxpayers to foot the bill. That’s unacceptable. During this global pandemic, it’s even more important for drivers to get access to protections like unemployment insurance. There is no rule that prevents these drivers from continuing to have all of the flexibility they currently enjoy. Being properly classified as an employee doesn’t change that.”

6 Qualities that Every Boss Wants in Their Employees

 

6 Qualities that Every Boss Wants in Their Employees

Source

What can I do to impress my boss?

We’ve been asking ourselves this question for so long that it almost seems ridiculous we haven’t managed to write that universal guide to help us all with an answer. It’s a pretty normal thing to concern ourselves with. After all, our jobs invoke some sort of motivation and, no matter which one that is, said motivation is a goal that always goes through the impression we leave on our employers.

Fortunately, centuries of labor and interactions based on hierarchies haven’t been all for nothing, as there has been a pattern noticed. This pattern refers to an array of traits and qualities that many employers think represent the perfect employee.

Productivity

Every business aims to produce something, let it be a good or a service. Quality and quantity of that product go hand-in-hand, and they’re directly proportional to how well the company will fare. Surprise your employers with sudden bursts of productivity, but try to stay tempered in order to maintain a certain consistency of your output.

Problem Solving

Or, rather, how well you behave when you’re faced with a difficult situation. If you get stuck on a particular issue, what do you do next? Do you fire away an opinionated e-mail to the staff or do you try to find your way out of the situation first? It’s definitely recommended that you try the latter option first, as adaptability and your capacity to work your way out of a sticky situation are definitely some excellent bonus points to your portfolio.

Initiative

Initiative refers to plenty of things. To continue the previously mentioned idea, it also refers to your ability to grab the ropes and steer away from a difficult situation all by yourself. If no one will fix it, then who will? You can also show initiative by bringing forward the various issues you have discovered to the higher-ups, proving that you care about the proper development of the project.

Involvement

Don’t be a passive player in this game. Get involved! Coming to work every day and awaiting instructions and papers to fill out won’t help you stand out much. Of course, having innovative ideas isn’t something that comes easily and, especially if you’re a newcomer, don’t worry too much about trying to impress with a groundbreaking resolution. Instead, do something extra out of your own free will. Show your contribution.

Creativity

Creativity represents something extremely sought-after: out-of-the-box thinking. This is one of those qualities that you can prove to be true even before you land an interview by submitting a charmingly creative resume. This is a trait that determines how well you’re able to make something out of nothing, a very valuable asset.

Carefulness

The difference is in the little things. Show up on time at meetings, write down notes when your boss is explaining something, finish all of your duty tasks, and carry through with your promises. Separately, these may not mean a whole lot, but together, they create a system that proves that you care about the job and that you’re looking toward the future, a bigger picture.

Conclusion

All in all, a bright mind and a clear goal help in making sure that you earn your boss’s respect. You don’t need to work overtime, do longer hours, or in any way struggle to work more. Quality will always be preferred over quantity. Carefulness leads to problem solving, which lets you get more involved, boosts creativity, and shows your employer that you can take initiative.

Live up to these standards and your boss will most certainly value your contributions to the company – something which is bound to show up on the next paycheck.

Why You Should Use A Free Time Tracking App

Why You Should Use A Free Time Tracking App

If you are anything like most employers, it is important that you are aware of the number of hours worked by each worker. One way to achieve this would be to use a free time tracking app. Here are several reasons that this would be a wise choice.

One thing that employers cannot stand is trying to decide how to schedule employees. This is the case when schedules are variable and can change wildly from week to week. Not only is it hard to create a schedule, but it can be difficult to remember and keep track of the hours each person is supposed to be on task. A time tracking app can make this much simpler. You can select a schedule with ease, then look at it as the week progresses to ensure everything is going smoothly.

It is very commonplace for workers to leave shortly before they are scheduled to. If someone has a habit of putting in their end time as a bit later than it should be, an app can help you catch this. For example, if you see that an employee had consistently logged in at 4:45 pm to put their time and they are scheduled to leave at 5:00 pm, you can ask why this is. Perhaps they are trying to fudge the system and get credit for hours not worked, or maybe it is something harmless. Either way, the software will help you figure things out.

When you run a business, it is important to get the most out of each minute of your time. Every minute wasted is time that could have been spent doing something far more productive. It is a good idea to get an app to track time for this reason. You will no longer have to run around the office asking why timesheets have yet to be submitted. It can all be as simple as setting a reminder to employees when they haven’t done it yet and logging in to approve everything once they have completed the task.

Whether you believe it or not, there are some employers who use these apps to check their own time. Imagine a world where you can use every minute of your time wisely. There will be no more wasted moments and times when you were twiddling your thumbs and you could have been doing something else. When you are the boss, it can be hard to stay on task. Using an app can certainly help you with this. The best thing is the fact that a free app can actually help you make more money.

Instead of sitting there wondering if this type of app is truly as great as you are being told, you should try it out for yourself. Since there will be no cost to you, it is not like you have anything to lose. Once you start using time tracking software, the only regret you will have is that you did not try it sooner.
http://timesheetsplus.com

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