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Im baffled to imagine drivers really want to lose all those tax deductions - and get paid less - to be employees rather than contractors. Being an employee is

Im baffled to imagine drivers really want to lose all those tax deductions - and get paid less - to be employees rather than contractors. Being an employee is just about the worst possible tax situation. A better change in the law would be the opposite. Give the benefits of being a contractor to all folks currently forced to be categorized as employees. And fix healthcare so it’s not tied to your job.

caymanjim 7y ago
Being an employee means you can unionize, you must be paid minimum wage, you have protection against arbitrary termination, and myriad other benefits. Many drivers prefer the current arrangement, but many also want to make the tradeoff.
- closeparen 7y ago
  >you have protection against arbitrary termination https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At-will_employment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At-will_employment
  - caymanjim 7y ago
    That's all fine and good on paper, but what do you think really happens when an employer fires an at-will employee, without cause, who doesn't like what happened?
    - danaris 7y ago
      Maybe the employee gets their lawyer involved, and then the company gets their entire cadre of highly-paid lawyers specializing in exactly this thing involved and regardless of whether the law's on the employee's side, he gets a legal fight that will just drain his resources for years and years (or until he's broke).
      - caymanjim 7y ago
        I'm not saying the employee would win, but nor would your scenario occur, in most cases. They'd just pay them off. It's easier to avoid that entirely and offer severance. To get back to my original point, being a real employee rather than a contractor means there's a cost to arbitrary termination, which provides the employee with some additional job security. This is one of the many reasons why one might prefer to be an employee, rather than a contractor, even if there are tax implications.
        paulsutter 7y ago
        So basically it is better to have a terrible tax situation, because you’re hoping to hang on to a job where you aren’t wanted? I’m sorry to hear it, that’s a really sad situation.

caymanjim 7y ago

Being an employee means you can unionize, you must be paid minimum wage, you have protection against arbitrary termination, and myriad other benefits. Many drivers prefer the current arrangement, but many also want to make the tradeoff.

closeparen 7y ago
>you have protection against arbitrary termination https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At-will_employment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At-will_employment
- caymanjim 7y ago
  That's all fine and good on paper, but what do you think really happens when an employer fires an at-will employee, without cause, who doesn't like what happened?
  - danaris 7y ago
    Maybe the employee gets their lawyer involved, and then the company gets their entire cadre of highly-paid lawyers specializing in exactly this thing involved and regardless of whether the law's on the employee's side, he gets a legal fight that will just drain his resources for years and years (or until he's broke).
    - caymanjim 7y ago
      I'm not saying the employee would win, but nor would your scenario occur, in most cases. They'd just pay them off. It's easier to avoid that entirely and offer severance. To get back to my original point, being a real employee rather than a contractor means there's a cost to arbitrary termination, which provides the employee with some additional job security. This is one of the many reasons why one might prefer to be an employee, rather than a contractor, even if there are tax implications.
      - paulsutter 7y ago
        So basically it is better to have a terrible tax situation, because you’re hoping to hang on to a job where you aren’t wanted? I’m sorry to hear it, that’s a really sad situation.