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Well, but “independent contractors” totally have that right! OTOH, if their behavior is regulated “for the overall health of the platform” that is starting to s

Well, but “independent contractors” totally have that right! OTOH, if their behavior is regulated “for the overall health of the platform” that is starting to sound a lot like being employed with the company operating the platform. I wonder whether the applicability of Prop-22 is dependent fixed conditions of engagement... it would be silly to apply the same rules even when the pattern of engagement has changed (substantially).

lhorie 6y ago
> if their behavior is regulated That's twisting the facts a bit though, no? They can always turn off the app if they don't want to take jobs, or work for Lyft or Doordash or whatever; that's always been the case. The problem here is that a specific level of information symmetry causes a self-destructive collective behavior. This is akin to a hypothetical scenario where plumbers somehow get hold of some magic technology that ranks jobs by pay and then proceed to only accept the most profitable ones, eventually leading to a situation where people can't get plumbers and the entire town ends up becoming youtube-watching DYIers, making plumbing an non-viable trade in the town.
- woah 6y ago
  Very confused. Why would a plumber need magic to be able to estimate a job? I had one come by my apartment and all he needed was a flashlight.
  - lhorie 6y ago
    > Why would a plumber need magic to be able to estimate a job? I had one come by my apartment and all he needed was a flashlight. Exactly, he needed to come to your place. That's how Uber used to operate (the destination was not known until the driver arrived to pick you up). The "magic" in this hypothetical case would be something that tells the plumber how expensive the job would be without needing to drive half way across town for something that a bottle of drano would have fixed.
    - sumedh 6y ago
      The plumber can lie to you and say that the job is more complex and will need more money. Uber drivers cannot do that.
      - lhorie 6y ago
        A driver-for-hire has always been able to decide not to take a job, or to lie about the cost. That's literally the two biggest complaints against taxis: "I called and they never showed up" and "my meter is broken". If you're advocating for drivers' "rights" to pull these kinds of shenanigans at the expense of riders, the market has some bad news for you.

lhorie 6y ago

> if their behavior is regulated That's twisting the facts a bit though, no? They can always turn off the app if they don't want to take jobs, or work for Lyft or Doordash or whatever; that's always been the case. The problem here is that a specific level of information symmetry causes a self-destructive collective behavior. This is akin to a hypothetical scenario where plumbers somehow get hold of some magic technology that ranks jobs by pay and then proceed to only accept the most profitable ones, eventually leading to a situation where people can't get plumbers and the entire town ends up becoming youtube-watching DYIers, making plumbing an non-viable trade in the town.

woah 6y ago
Very confused. Why would a plumber need magic to be able to estimate a job? I had one come by my apartment and all he needed was a flashlight.
- lhorie 6y ago
  > Why would a plumber need magic to be able to estimate a job? I had one come by my apartment and all he needed was a flashlight. Exactly, he needed to come to your place. That's how Uber used to operate (the destination was not known until the driver arrived to pick you up). The "magic" in this hypothetical case would be something that tells the plumber how expensive the job would be without needing to drive half way across town for something that a bottle of drano would have fixed.
  - sumedh 6y ago
    The plumber can lie to you and say that the job is more complex and will need more money. Uber drivers cannot do that.
    - lhorie 6y ago
      A driver-for-hire has always been able to decide not to take a job, or to lie about the cost. That's literally the two biggest complaints against taxis: "I called and they never showed up" and "my meter is broken". If you're advocating for drivers' "rights" to pull these kinds of shenanigans at the expense of riders, the market has some bad news for you.