Damon Silvers, my classmate at the Harvard Law School a long time ago (we were 1Ls in 1992), and now Special Counsel to the AFL-CIO and professor, has a thought provoking piece up on the UCL Institute for Innovation and…
via Damon Silvers on Coronavirus and the Gig Economy — Workers’ Compensation Law Prof Blog
From the New York Times: The coronavirus pandemic is exposing the fragile situations of gig economy workers — the Uber and Lyft drivers, food-delivery couriers and TaskRabbit furniture builders who are behind the convenience-as-a-service apps that are now part of…
One of the difficulties I have teaching “younger” students about workers’ compensation (and other bodies of labor and employment law) is that the rationales for the law have often arisen from extraordinary historical times not remotely similar to any they…
Last month, DoorDash made news when thousands of the company’s worker-“Dashers” decided to pursue misclassification claims in arbitration, one-by-one, a concept known as “swarming.” (Companies appear to be popping up to assist plaintiffs’ counsel in setting up swarming practices). This…
Thought provoking piece in today’s The Guardian highlighting yet another dimension of the fissured workplace. If you are a “contract” worker, you might have to show up for work at the Google office during the Coronavirus. Say what?: The day…
I was quoted the other day in Bloomberg News on the subject of “portable benefits”—benefits paid to “gig workers” in lieu of “real benefits” because, well, it’s better than nothing. It may not surprise you to learn that, contrary to…
via No Grand Bargain: A Counter Perspective on “Portable Benefits” — Workers’ Compensation Law Prof Blog
A bill has been proposed in the Wyoming Senate that would provide first responders with workplace mental injury coverage. I support the bill, but it does seem at least problematic on “special laws” grounds. As Professor Justin Long at Wayne…
The general challenge to California’s AB 5 is now on its way to trial absent a successful pre-trial motion by California state authorities. But readers may recall that a California federal district court recently upheld a challenge of the law…
via More on California ABC and the FAAAA/Trucker Preemption Issue — Workers’ Compensation Law Prof Blog
There is a very close relationship between two federal preemption provisions that are having an impact on state employment law and state workers’ compensation systems. One such provision, in the Airline Deregulation Act (49 U.S.C. § 41713), prevents state workers’ compensation…
In a 24-page decision that went much as I expected, a Federal district judge in the Central District of California concluded that California Assembly Bill 5 2019 (AB 5) was rationally-related to a legitimate state interest, did not deprive gig…
Workers' Comp Prof 