There are lots of great points in this thread, and while it would be fun to enter into the argument about employee vs independent contractor, the reality is that either outcome is bad for Uber.
Before I get into why, it's important to understand two things; The fundamental requirements of being an independent contractor, and how employers and individuals benefit from hiring employees and contractors.
While many states have specific guidelines on being an independent contractor, the common these is that they're truly "Independent" and can make their own schedule, and choose/decline work based on personal preferences.
From an operations perspective, businesses benefit from the employee model by having control over the individual. Deadlines and productivity goals can't be guaranteed unless you have reliable labor resources, so being able to command individuals to work a prescribed schedule and perform tasks that might not otherwise want to is key. Of course this comes at a higher cost, as employees are subject to wage and overtime laws, whereas independent contractors are not.
Before Uber was even a dream, the Taxi and Limousine industry had encountered these issues, with some companies being sued out of business for violating labor/wage law. The post mortum in these cases showed that in some cases the businesses were clearly taking advantage of the workers by treating them like employees and paying as independents, but in many cases the individuals simply didn't care. As individuals they just wanted to work, as much as they could, because they had families to support, and didn't care about the time and a half - they just needed to work 100 hours per week to make ends meet. The bottom line is that these cases were more political than justice, were about creating more jobs in a down economy, and the net effect was that most business switched to employee models to insulate themselves from future liability, then hired more people to eliminate the overtime.
In conclusion, the results of this case will set a precedent that eventually levels the playing field, allowing the traditional transportation companies switch back to the independent contractor model, lowering the prices and allowing them to once again compete on price, or it will force the app based companies to raise prices. What do you think it better?
Announcer: "Ladies and gentlemen we have a first time poster here. Please give a warm welcome to 8chip8>"
8chip8: "Wow, so like anyone can write a post here? anyone with any qualification? any skill set? even people with giant brain tumors that are virtual retards?"
Show Host: "Yes it's true. Unfortunately anyone , yes anyone can post - even that kid Corky from life goes on provided his fingers don't slip off the keyboard from all the drooling"
8chip8: "Well then I would like to make a comment"
Show Host: "8chip8 the floor is yours"
8chip8: "I think the person that started this thread is a dumb doody head"
Show Host: "8chip8 why are you so angry, no need to be mean to the guy. He just had an opinion"
8chip8: "Yeah, but his opinion is stupid and he is stupid. First of all, what was the point of his post. To be the one millionth person to realize that there's an overpaid executive somewhere. Oh no! and overpaid executive! Everybody run! And then he babbles for a couple sentences and says something about being willing to do the job for half the pay. Moron. First of all, did someone offer you the job. I didn't think so. Second, if they did offer you the job, what are your qualifications? Nerd doesn't quite cut it. Finally, what is your plan? Play rock music really loud and create a bitchin work environment for your staff? Well if I were you maybe I would maybe want to consider the fact that the companies that pay these salaries have a different plan.
Show Host: Well you're actually a little wrong there 8chip8. Mr. Moron did actually suggest using the extra money to develop new albums
8chip8: Which is another reason why the guy is a moron. How many times have we all heard how someone could spend the money better? A million? A billion? I could give 100 people 100 dollars each and there'd be 200 ways to spend it. If you want to actually make a difference, save the money and invent a time machine, then travel back to the beginning of man and give him gene therapy that removes the greed trait (of course this would just screw us because we need the hoarding/take more than you need mentality to survive long winters.)
Show host: "Wow that was pretty rough"
8chip8: Yeah it was. The poor guy didn't deserve it. He just thought he had something worth saying, just like me. Only it was BORING and STUPID.
Show host: "Ouch - that's all we have for today"
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by 8chip8.
The bigger picture
There are lots of great points in this thread, and while it would be fun to enter into the argument about employee vs independent contractor, the reality is that either outcome is bad for Uber.
Before I get into why, it's important to understand two things; The fundamental requirements of being an independent contractor, and how employers and individuals benefit from hiring employees and contractors.
While many states have specific guidelines on being an independent contractor, the common these is that they're truly "Independent" and can make their own schedule, and choose/decline work based on personal preferences.
From an operations perspective, businesses benefit from the employee model by having control over the individual. Deadlines and productivity goals can't be guaranteed unless you have reliable labor resources, so being able to command individuals to work a prescribed schedule and perform tasks that might not otherwise want to is key. Of course this comes at a higher cost, as employees are subject to wage and overtime laws, whereas independent contractors are not.
Before Uber was even a dream, the Taxi and Limousine industry had encountered these issues, with some companies being sued out of business for violating labor/wage law. The post mortum in these cases showed that in some cases the businesses were clearly taking advantage of the workers by treating them like employees and paying as independents, but in many cases the individuals simply didn't care. As individuals they just wanted to work, as much as they could, because they had families to support, and didn't care about the time and a half - they just needed to work 100 hours per week to make ends meet. The bottom line is that these cases were more political than justice, were about creating more jobs in a down economy, and the net effect was that most business switched to employee models to insulate themselves from future liability, then hired more people to eliminate the overtime.
In conclusion, the results of this case will set a precedent that eventually levels the playing field, allowing the traditional transportation companies switch back to the independent contractor model, lowering the prices and allowing them to once again compete on price, or it will force the app based companies to raise prices. What do you think it better?
Announcer: "Ladies and gentlemen we have a first time poster here. Please give a warm welcome to 8chip8>"
8chip8: "Wow, so like anyone can write a post here? anyone with any qualification? any skill set? even people with giant brain tumors that are virtual retards?"
Show Host: "Yes it's true. Unfortunately anyone , yes anyone can post - even that kid Corky from life goes on provided his fingers don't slip off the keyboard from all the drooling"
8chip8: "Well then I would like to make a comment"
Show Host: "8chip8 the floor is yours"
8chip8: "I think the person that started this thread is a dumb doody head"
Show Host: "8chip8 why are you so angry, no need to be mean to the guy. He just had an opinion"
8chip8: "Yeah, but his opinion is stupid and he is stupid. First of all, what was the point of his post. To be the one millionth person to realize that there's an overpaid executive somewhere. Oh no! and overpaid executive! Everybody run! And then he babbles for a couple sentences and says something about being willing to do the job for half the pay. Moron. First of all, did someone offer you the job. I didn't think so. Second, if they did offer you the job, what are your qualifications? Nerd doesn't quite cut it. Finally, what is your plan? Play rock music really loud and create a bitchin work environment for your staff? Well if I were you maybe I would maybe want to consider the fact that the companies that pay these salaries have a different plan.
Show Host: Well you're actually a little wrong there 8chip8. Mr. Moron did actually suggest using the extra money to develop new albums
8chip8: Which is another reason why the guy is a moron. How many times have we all heard how someone could spend the money better? A million? A billion? I could give 100 people 100 dollars each and there'd be 200 ways to spend it. If you want to actually make a difference, save the money and invent a time machine, then travel back to the beginning of man and give him gene therapy that removes the greed trait (of course this would just screw us because we need the hoarding/take more than you need mentality to survive long winters.)
Show host: "Wow that was pretty rough"
8chip8: Yeah it was. The poor guy didn't deserve it. He just thought he had something worth saying, just like me. Only it was BORING and STUPID.
Show host: "Ouch - that's all we have for today"