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The company is definitely at fault if it achieved that $10 rate by misclassifying the individual as a contractor.

brixon 9y ago
Then the government that made the contractor vs employee laws needs to apply it. If a law is not enforced then it is not really a law. Companies are not obligated to do better than enforced laws, they are not charities or social organizations here to make the world a better place, they are here to make money for their shareholders. I think the EU is doing the right thing. It sometimes takes a while for government laws or competition to catch up and balance out issues, but I don't for a second think that any company is going to play nice if it does not have to.
- Nursie 9y ago
  >> Companies are not obligated to do better than enforced laws They really are. You seem to be effectively saying "well, if they can get away with it there's nothing wrong with that" >> they are not charities or social organizations here to make the world a better place, they are here to make money for their shareholders. There's a lot more to it than that, we are not a pure, unfettered capitalistic society in Europe.
  - brixon 9y ago
    You are confusing legality with ethics. Ethically, Uber has a lot to be desired. Uber is a US based company and will try to follow the capitalistic model as much as possible unless restricted by local laws. I would never make an assumption that a US based company's goal is to do good. Assume they are out to maximize profit no matter where they operate. If they seem to do good then there is a driver in their business model where this leads to more profits than doing bad.
    - Nursie 9y ago
      >> You are confusing legality with ethics. In this case I'm not sure I am - if there are laws that companies need to follow, even if they are not always strictly or consistently enforced, I would consider it the legal obligation of a company to follow them.

Then the government that made the contractor vs employee laws needs to apply it. If a law is not enforced then it is not really a law. Companies are not obligated to do better than enforced laws, they are not charities or social organizations here to make the world a better place, they are here to make money for their shareholders. I think the EU is doing the right thing. It sometimes takes a while for government laws or competition to catch up and balance out issues, but I don't for a second think that any company is going to play nice if it does not have to.

Nursie 9y ago
>> Companies are not obligated to do better than enforced laws They really are. You seem to be effectively saying "well, if they can get away with it there's nothing wrong with that" >> they are not charities or social organizations here to make the world a better place, they are here to make money for their shareholders. There's a lot more to it than that, we are not a pure, unfettered capitalistic society in Europe.
- brixon 9y ago
  You are confusing legality with ethics. Ethically, Uber has a lot to be desired. Uber is a US based company and will try to follow the capitalistic model as much as possible unless restricted by local laws. I would never make an assumption that a US based company's goal is to do good. Assume they are out to maximize profit no matter where they operate. If they seem to do good then there is a driver in their business model where this leads to more profits than doing bad.
  - Nursie 9y ago
    >> You are confusing legality with ethics. In this case I'm not sure I am - if there are laws that companies need to follow, even if they are not always strictly or consistently enforced, I would consider it the legal obligation of a company to follow them.