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(This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home4/scienrds/scienceandnerds/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114Source:https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2023\/06\/01\/gig-workers-in-california-to-receive-millions-for-unpaid-vehicle-expenses\/<\/a><\/br> Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and other app-based ride-hail and delivery companies will have to reimburse California gig workers potentially millions of dollars for unpaid vehicle expenses between 2022 and 2023.<\/p>\n The back payments come from a provision in Proposition 22<\/a>, the controversial law that classifies gig workers as independent contractors rather than employees and promises them halfhearted protections and benefits. For example, gig workers get a minimum earnings guarantee, rather than a guaranteed minimum wage, for the time they spend \u201cengaged\u201d in a gig, and not the time spent between rides.<\/p>\n Part of Prop 22<\/a> stipulates that drivers making the bare minimum get a reimbursement for vehicle expenses. Starting in 2021, when Prop 22 went into effect in California, drivers began receiving $0.30 per mile driven while \u201cactively engaged.\u201d The law also states that the rate should be raised to keep up with the pace of inflation. So, 2022\u2019s 6.8% inflation raise should have bumped those payments to $0.32 per mile; and in 2023 it should have gone up another $0.02 to $0.34 per mile.<\/p>\n A couple of cents may not seem like a big deal, but drivers clock thousands of miles every year, so it can really add up. Especially when you consider that there are roughly 1.3 million gig drivers in California, according to industry reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n (By the way, in line with the lackluster benefits afforded to gig workers under Prop 22, their vehicle mileage deduction rate<\/a> is half the standard rate for business owners and employees, which in 2023 is $0.655 per mile.)<\/p>\n Pablo Gomez, a full-time Uber driver since 2019, noticed that his payments never went up past $0.30, according to The Los Angeles Times<\/a>, which first reported the discrepancy. Now we know that no drivers received the increased payments, because none of the app-based companies implemented the adjustment.<\/p>\n Uber, DoorDash, Lyft and Grubhub all told TechCrunch that they didn\u2019t adjust driver reimbursement fees because they were waiting for the California treasurer\u2019s office to publish adjusted rates. According to Prop 22, the treasury is indeed tasked with calculating and publishing the adjusted rate each year and failed to do so in a timely manner.<\/p>\n After studying the language of Prop 22, Gomez tried reaching out to the state treasurer\u2019s office on April 13 and was brushed off. He then tweeted directly at Fiona Ma, the California treasurer, asking why the rate hadn\u2019t been changed yet. Sergio Avedian, a gig worker and senior contributor at The Rideshare Guy<\/a>, boosted the tweet. On May 10, Ma replied<\/a> saying the rate adjustment had finally been published. Uber and DoorDash immediately started sending backpay to drivers, lest they face a class-action lawsuit.<\/p>\n For his part, Avedian said he was ready to file suit if the companies didn\u2019t agree to retroactively pay. \u201cI had the law firm ready, and I was gonna be the lead plaintiff,\u201d he told TechCrunch.<\/p>\n Lyft and Instacart told TechCrunch they have now begun issuing backpay and have notified drivers. Grubhub said it will start retroactively paying drivers.<\/p>\n The state\u2019s treasury did not respond in time to explain why it took so long \u2014 18 months for 2022\u2019s rates \u2014 to provide adjusted vehicle reimbursement rates. According to Avedian, the treasury had been holding off due to the uncertain status of Prop 22. The ballot measure had been ruled unconstitutional<\/a> in August 2021, but in March, a California appeals court overturned<\/a> that decision. Industry experts say that despite the lower court ruling Prop 22 unconstitutional, it was still the law of the land, and the treasury should have treated it as such.<\/p>\n I asked the app-based companies if they had reached out to the department in the past year and a half to push for an updated rate. Uber said it reached out once in January 2022, and DoorDash said it had made repeated requests for updated mileage rates \u201cdating back to January 2022.\u201d Lyft also said it reached out to the treasury for information, but didn\u2019t specify when or how many times. I also asked the companies if they had alerted gig workers to the treasury\u2019s delay to reassure them that they\u2019d be reimbursed eventually. None of them had.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s not surprising. App-based gig companies have yet to achieve true measures of profitability, even as they find new and exciting ways to extract as much work for as little pay as possible from workers. (See: algorithmic wage discrimination,<\/a>\u00a0tip hiding<\/a> and tip stealing<\/a>.) When I asked an Uber spokesperson why the company didn\u2019t just make its own calculations for workers, he responded that \u201cit\u2019s up to the treasurer\u2019s office to mandate that rate.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not quite a \u201cbetter to ask for forgiveness than permission\u201d argument, but it\u2019s along the same lines. Better to hope that no one notices you\u2019re not paying workers properly than to proactively pay them properly.<\/p>\n Not every driver will end up receiving backpay. Many ride-hail drivers exceed the minimum rate, so they aren\u2019t eligible for vehicle reimbursement fees. However, those who mainly drive for Uber Eats, DoorDash and other food delivery platforms tend to rely more on tips for income, so they should begin to see payments show up in their accounts.<\/p>\n Avedian, who drives part-time and cherry picks his gigs, said he got around $85 from Uber. His wife, who also works part-time, got more than $200 from DoorDash.<\/p>\n But what about the workers who drive full-time?<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re a full-time DoorDash, Uber Eats, GrubHub driver, you\u2019re driving a solid 5,000 miles a month. There\u2019s no doubt about that,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re gonna end up owing a few hundred million. It\u2019s gonna be a lot of money.\u201d<\/p>\n None of the companies I spoke to shared how much money they expect to doll out to drivers, but some back of the envelope math suggests that, collectively, companies could end up paying in the millions.<\/p>\n Aside from Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Grubhub and Instacart, other relevant companies that employ gig workers include Amazon Flex, Target\u2019s Shipt and Walmart\u2019s Spark.<\/p>\n Avedian has gathered screenshots of his own, his wife\u2019s and his podcast listeners\u2019 backpay reimbursements. One of his major gripes is the complete lack of transparency from the companies regarding the calculation of these amounts. None of the companies provide drivers with a mileage breakdown.<\/p>\n Uber is the only company to even stipulate that the payment is a result of California Prop 22 benefits. DoorDash drivers just see a random payment appear.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody\u2019s getting money, and these drivers are like, \u2018Oh, I got 400 bucks. I got 800 bucks,\u2019 but they don\u2019t all know what it\u2019s for.\u201d<\/p>\n Avedian actually keeps a spreadsheet where he logs all his net earnings, miles driven, number of trips and Prop 22 adjustments. Per his calculations, Uber\u2019s back payment to him was actually off by $3.<\/p>\n \u201cI call this nickel and diming of the gig economy,\u201d said Avedian. \u201c$3 times a million people is 3 million more dollars. I mean, I\u2019m not bitching and moaning that people are getting money, but all I\u2019m saying is, why not be transparent?\u201d<\/p>\n In May, a bill in Colorado that aimed to make gig worker platforms more transparent for workers was shut down<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cMillions of people are driving for these companies, and while they\u2019re doing it, they\u2019re getting ripped off because of a lack of transparency,\u201d said Avedian. \u201cYou must have something to hide, otherwise you wouldn\u2019t be afraid of transparency.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nGig workers in California to receive millions for unpaid vehicle expenses<\/br>
\n2023-06-02 22:05:33<\/br><\/p>\nLack of transparency<\/h2>\n