May 1, 2018
In response to yesterday’s groundbreaking California Supreme Court’s decision to support gig economy workers, Almas Sayeed, CIPC’s Deputy Director of Programs, issued the following statement:
On this historic May Day, CIPC applauds the California Supreme Court’s decision to protect and expand economic security for gig economy workers, many of whom are low-wage, immigrant workers.
Often classified as “independent contractors,” gig economy workers are denied many basic labor protections which most employees have, leaving them at increased risk of abuse and exploitation. This ruling makes it much more difficult for gig economy platforms, such as Uber, Postmates, and other platforms, to classify their workers as independent contractors. The ruling puts pressure on gig economy enterprises to properly classify workers who are critical to these companies’ work and to our economy.
CIPC celebrates this significant decision from the state’s Supreme Court — upholding California’s values of equality, opportunity, and compassion, and the firm belief that all workers deserve access to a fair wage, good working conditions, dignity on the job, and labor protections.