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Maybe things are different in CA, but as a driver in FL: > Taxi drivers get to choose how they do their job (i.e. who to pick up). I can reject any fare. > M

by aggronn 11y ago

Maybe things are different in CA, but as a driver in FL: > Taxi drivers get to choose how they do their job (i.e. who to pick up). I can reject any fare. > Moreover taxi companies do not forbid customers from tipping nor do they get a percentage of a taxi driver's gratuity. Uber doesn't forbid me from getting tips, and doesn't take any of the tips that I do get...

toomuchtodo 11y ago
Does Uber define what sort of vehicle you can use? Do they provide any sort of guidelines or rules on how the work is done? Are you only providing services for Uber? If the above answers are yes, they're breaking the law.
- pki 11y ago
  I almost never see anyone exclusively on uber, usually they are rolling with multiple phones mounted on the dashboard, uber + lyft + some others
- aggronn 11y ago
  >Do they provide any sort of guidelines or rules on how the work is done? I wonder what constitutes rules on how the work is done. If I use a bike to pick people up and drop them off, and I not doing the work, or am I doing the work in a way that is violates the rules? If I pick people up and then drop them off in the wrong place intentionally, am I not doing the work or am I violating rules on how the work is done? So is the car a specification for work or is it a guideline on how to do the work? Seems like CA thinks its the latter, but I definitely see the argument for the former. Its more clear cut in freelancing--the end product shouldn't indicate the type of computer that it was developed on. For Uber, the car is definitely part of the experience that you're being paid to provide as a driver. Anyways, i'm not qualified to speculate about any of this. I'm just going to be unhappy if a decision similar to this somehow prevents me from making a few hundred bucks every now and then for driving drunk people home from bars.
  - toomuchtodo 11y ago
    http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Independent-Contractor-Defined http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employ... http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Independent-Contractor-Self-Employed-or-Employee http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employ... > Anyways, i'm not qualified to speculate about any of this. I'm just going to be unhappy if a decision similar to this somehow prevents me from making a few hundred bucks every now and then for driving drunk people home from bars. I'm not qualified to speculate either, I'm just going to be unhappy if Uber is permitted to continue to violate labor and transportation laws.
- pbreit 11y ago
  "Does Uber define what sort of vehicle you can use?" Extremely minimal like vehicle age and it has to pass a safety inspection. "Do they provide any sort of guidelines or rules on how the work is done?" No. Suggestions perhaps but it's pretty much all common sense. "Are you only providing services for Uber?" No.
  - toomuchtodo 11y ago
    And yet, governing bodies continue to rule that Uber is an employer. Go figure.
    - pbreit 11y ago
      One non-governing body in one state regarding one person.
jellicle 11y ago
Isn't it the case that if you reject more than a tiny percentage of fares, Uber will fire you?
- pbreit 11y ago
  Not really. But I would wonder why you're rejecting fares? And is it ok for contractors to refuse to perform?
  - jellicle 11y ago
    Then why does Uber tell its drivers that it will fire them for low acceptance rates? > And is it ok for contractors to refuse to perform? Of course it is. That's what a contractor is, the very definition: someone who has economic independence from the client, and therefore can accept or refuse any particular job for any or no reason. Refusing jobs is something an employee can't do, however. And that distinction is one major reason why Uber's "contractors" are actually misclassified employees.

by aggronn 11y ago

toomuchtodo 11y ago

Does Uber define what sort of vehicle you can use? Do they provide any sort of guidelines or rules on how the work is done? Are you only providing services for Uber? If the above answers are yes, they're breaking the law.

pki 11y ago
I almost never see anyone exclusively on uber, usually they are rolling with multiple phones mounted on the dashboard, uber + lyft + some others
aggronn 11y ago
>Do they provide any sort of guidelines or rules on how the work is done? I wonder what constitutes rules on how the work is done. If I use a bike to pick people up and drop them off, and I not doing the work, or am I doing the work in a way that is violates the rules? If I pick people up and then drop them off in the wrong place intentionally, am I not doing the work or am I violating rules on how the work is done? So is the car a specification for work or is it a guideline on how to do the work? Seems like CA thinks its the latter, but I definitely see the argument for the former. Its more clear cut in freelancing--the end product shouldn't indicate the type of computer that it was developed on. For Uber, the car is definitely part of the experience that you're being paid to provide as a driver. Anyways, i'm not qualified to speculate about any of this. I'm just going to be unhappy if a decision similar to this somehow prevents me from making a few hundred bucks every now and then for driving drunk people home from bars.
- toomuchtodo 11y ago
  http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Independent-Contractor-Defined http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employ... http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Independent-Contractor-Self-Employed-or-Employee http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employ... > Anyways, i'm not qualified to speculate about any of this. I'm just going to be unhappy if a decision similar to this somehow prevents me from making a few hundred bucks every now and then for driving drunk people home from bars. I'm not qualified to speculate either, I'm just going to be unhappy if Uber is permitted to continue to violate labor and transportation laws.
pbreit 11y ago
"Does Uber define what sort of vehicle you can use?" Extremely minimal like vehicle age and it has to pass a safety inspection. "Do they provide any sort of guidelines or rules on how the work is done?" No. Suggestions perhaps but it's pretty much all common sense. "Are you only providing services for Uber?" No.
- toomuchtodo 11y ago
  And yet, governing bodies continue to rule that Uber is an employer. Go figure.
  - pbreit 11y ago
    One non-governing body in one state regarding one person.

jellicle 11y ago

Isn't it the case that if you reject more than a tiny percentage of fares, Uber will fire you?

pbreit 11y ago
Not really. But I would wonder why you're rejecting fares? And is it ok for contractors to refuse to perform?
- jellicle 11y ago
  Then why does Uber tell its drivers that it will fire them for low acceptance rates? > And is it ok for contractors to refuse to perform? Of course it is. That's what a contractor is, the very definition: someone who has economic independence from the client, and therefore can accept or refuse any particular job for any or no reason. Refusing jobs is something an employee can't do, however. And that distinction is one major reason why Uber's "contractors" are actually misclassified employees.