Connect with us

Published

on

A US appeals court on Monday rejected a bid by Uber, opening a new tab and subsidiary Postmates to revive a challenge to a California law that could force the companies to treat drivers as employees rather than independent contractors who are typically less expensive.

An 11-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a lower court ruling that said Uber failed to show that the 2020 state law known as AB5 unfairly singled out app-based transportation companies while exempting other industries.

Uber in a statement on Monday said the ruling would not change the status of its relationships with its drivers, who are considered to be contractors under a 2020 ballot initiative known as Proposition 22.

The fate of Prop 22 is being weighed in a separate case at the state’s top court, which last month heard arguments from a labor union and four drivers contending the ballot measure was unconstitutional.

A representative for the California attorney generals office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The 9th Circuit in its ruling, opens new tab said there are plausible reasons for treating transportation and delivery referral companies differently from other types of referral companies.

The California legislature perceived transportation and delivery companies as the most significant perpetrators of the problem it sought to address worker misclassification, Circuit Judge Jacqueline Nguyen wrote.

Employees are entitled to the minimum wage, overtime pay, reimbursements for expenses and other protections that are not extended to independent contractors.

Uber, Postmates and similar services typically treat workers as contractors in order to control costs.

The clash over the scope of AB5 comes amid a broader national debate over state and federal laws and other regulations that could require more companies to deem their workers as employees.

US business groups in March sued the Biden administration in federal court over its effort to make it harder for companies to treat some workers as independent contractors rather than employees.

Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.

Please provide a valid email address.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Never miss a story.

Studies suggest that employees can cost companies up to 30% more than contract workers.

The top state court in Massachusetts is weighing whether voters in November should get a chance to consider ballot proposals that would redefine the working relationship between on-demand drivers and their companies in that state.

California’s AB5 raised the bar for proving that workers are truly independent contractors, requiring a company to show that workers are not under its direct control or engaged in its usual course of business and operate their own independent businesses.

Uber and two of its drivers in December 2019 sued over the California law.

They called AB5 “an irrational and unconstitutional statute designed to target and stifle workers and companies in the on-demand economy.”

A federal judge in Los Angeles dismissed the lawsuit at an earlier stage.

But a three-judge 9th Circuit panel last year revived the case.

The court said then that the “piecemeal fashion” of the exemptions to the law was enough to sustain Uber’s lawsuit. The 11-judge circuit court’s ruling on Monday wiped out Uber’s earlier win.

Continue Reading

World

Elon Musk hints 80-hour-a-week DOGE job for ‘high-IQ revolutionaries’ will be unpaid

Published

on

By

Elon Musk hints 80-hour-a-week DOGE job for 'high-IQ revolutionaries' will be unpaid

“Super high-IQ revolutionaries” who are willing to work 80+ hours a week are being urged to join Elon Musk’s new cost-cutting department in Donald Trump’s incoming US government.

The X and Tesla owner will co-lead the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

And in a post on X, the official DOGE account put out a call to arms for people to sign up and help “dismantle government bureaucracy”.

The post said: “We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE.

“We don’t need more part-time idea generators.

“We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.

“If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”

Read more:
Who is in Trump’s top team?
Trump’s cabinet signals tough stance on China

Elon Musk speaks after President-elect Donald Trump spoke during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Image:
Elon Musk speaking at an event held at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon

In a reply to an interested party, Mr Musk suggested the lucky applicants would be working for free.

“Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lost of enemies & compensation is zero,” the world’s richest man wrote.

“What a great deal!”

When announcing the new department, President-elect Donald Trump said Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”.

Mr Musk has previously made clear his desire to see cuts to “government waste” and in a post on his X platform suggested he could axe as many as three-quarters of the more than 400 federal departments in the US, writing: “99 is enough.”

Continue Reading

World

At least 10 dead after fire rips through retirement home in Spain

Published

on

By

At least 10 dead after fire rips through retirement home in Spain

At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.

A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.

Jardines de Villafranca nursing home following the fire.
Pic: AP
Image:
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP

They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.

Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.

Residents are moved out of the nursing home following the fire.
Pic: AP
Image:
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP

Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.

The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.

Read more from Sky News:
Mass displacement in Gaza – people unsure where to go
Donald Trump picks vaccine sceptic as health secretary

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.

All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.

Relatives waiting for news outside the nursing home where least 10 people have died in a fire in Zaragoza, Spain.
Pic: AP
Image:
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP

Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.

It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.

The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.

Continue Reading

US

Elon Musk hints 80-hour-a-week DOGE job for ‘high-IQ revolutionaries’ will be unpaid

Published

on

By

Elon Musk hints 80-hour-a-week DOGE job for 'high-IQ revolutionaries' will be unpaid

“Super high-IQ revolutionaries” who are willing to work 80+ hours a week are being urged to join Elon Musk’s new cost-cutting department in Donald Trump’s incoming US government.

The X and Tesla owner will co-lead the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

And in a post on X, the official DOGE account put out a call to arms for people to sign up and help “dismantle government bureaucracy”.

The post said: “We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE.

“We don’t need more part-time idea generators.

“We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.

“If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”

Read more:
Who is in Trump’s top team?
Trump’s cabinet signals tough stance on China

Elon Musk speaks after President-elect Donald Trump spoke during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Image:
Elon Musk speaking at an event held at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon

In a reply to an interested party, Mr Musk suggested the lucky applicants would be working for free.

“Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lost of enemies & compensation is zero,” the world’s richest man wrote.

“What a great deal!”

When announcing the new department, President-elect Donald Trump said Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”.

Mr Musk has previously made clear his desire to see cuts to “government waste” and in a post on his X platform suggested he could axe as many as three-quarters of the more than 400 federal departments in the US, writing: “99 is enough.”

Continue Reading

Trending