4 ms·
Instacart delivery workers are classified as independent contractors, which allows the company to flout basic labor laws. This is commonplace in digital age 'gi
by cribbles 8y ago
Instacart delivery workers are classified as independent contractors, which allows the company to flout basic labor laws. This is commonplace in digital age 'gig economy' jobs, but dates back to the early days of food delivery - e.g., most pizza delivery drivers are classified as independent contractors.
That having been said, the concept of defining contractor wages in relation to customer tips is new to me. I could see a legal argument being made in the employer's favor if the worker gave due consent to the transaction.
The idea here would be: Instacart states somewhere on the order prior to pickup 'if you choose to accept this order, you will receive $10, of which $.80 will come from us.' Since the delivery worker isn't running a 'shift' as an 'employee,' but just coincidentally happens to be running Instacart orders for 10 hours straight, this counts as one of many transactions that they've accepted and hence waived the legal right to complain about.
If this legal fiction sounds absurd to you, you're not alone.
- klathzazt 8y agoI would agree, if the app didn't say "tip for delivery person" instead of "tip for instacart" or something maybe more ambiguous like "tip." Take a look at the screenshots of their app being discussed here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bizcarson/2018/04/24/instacart-adds-tipping-back/#6b01149b74e8 https://www.forbes.com/sites/bizcarson/2018/04/24/instacart-...
- mikewhy 8y agoAre you sure those aren't the upcoming changes? There's another older screenshot further down that has more ambiguous wording. Edit: welp, even that says it 100% goes to the person doing the shopping. Gross.
- Spivak 8y agoInsidious, right? 100% of the tip technically does go to your shopper. Welcome to the world of 'tipped wages'. In my state, every paycheck, the first $520 worth of tips effectively goes straight to your employer for the purposes of paying your minimum wage and then you can have whatever is left over.
- gbear605 8y agoWhat’s more, this article is made by employees from Washington state, where they don’t even have a separate tipped minimum wage.
- dv_dt 8y agoI think that may be the theory Instacart is using, but I suspect it hasn't been tested, and that they're doing this under the move fast, flout legal conventions until someone makes you stop startup strategy.
- debacle 8y ago> Instacart delivery workers are classified as independent contractors Only Instacart believes this.
- Pharmakon 8y agoThey don’t believe it either, but it’s convenient lie, like corporations being people. It’s ridiculous, but as long as it’s the law and the people benefiting tip their politicians well, whomp whomp.
- xref 8y agoDismissing corporate personhood as “a convenient lie” is pretty flip when the Supreme Court has ruled it is enshrined in the constitution. But boy I’d love to dis-enshrine it.
- Pharmakon 8y agoLet’s not overstate the issue. The SCOTUS has a history of convenient lies, from the legal basis of segregation to fuckery around evolution.