Gig Economy

A gig economy is a free market system in which temporary positions are common and organizations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements. The term "gig" is a slang word meaning "a job for a specified period of time" and is typically used in referring to musicians. Temporary work or temporary employment refers to an employment situation where the working arrangement is limited to a certain period of time based on the needs of the employing organization.

(source: whatis.techtarget.com)

Gig Economy
DC Attorney General Sues Instacart Over Fees Customers Thought Were Tips
August 27, 2020

The attorney general for the District of Columbia alleges in a lawsuit filed on Thursday (Aug. 27) that Instacart made substantial sums in the city by tricking customers into thinking voluntary payments they added to food delivery bills were tips for drivers. “Instacart tricked District...

Gig Economy
Uber Eats Will Still Deliver In California If Ridesharing Is Shut Down
August 17, 2020

Uber says it will continue operating food delivery business Uber Eats in California even if its main ridesharing business is forced to shut down on Friday (Aug. 21) because of a recent court order, Reuters reported. The order mandates that Uber and rival Lyft treat...

Gig Economy
Just Eat Takeaway To End Its Gig Worker Model
August 16, 2020

As courts force an end to the use of gig workers by Uber and Lyft in California, the CEO of Just Eat Takeaway said he will do it on his own. Jitse Groen, leader of one of the world’s largest food delivery platforms, told the...

Gig Economy
DoorDash Next Gig Platform To Face Injunction In California Over Gig Worker Status
August 13, 2020

DoorDash, the San Francisco-based prepared food delivery service, could be the latest gig company to face an injunction to treat its workers as employees, not independent contractors. The Financial Times reported San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin has filed for a preliminary injunction against the...

Gig Economy
California Attorney General Says Uber, Lyft’s Tradeoff Between Flexibility And Benefits A ‘False Choice’
August 11, 2020

The California judge who ruled that Uber and Lyft have to classify their workers as employees reportedly “saw straight through” the “bogus argument” that the companies’ workers like being classified as independent contractors instead. CNBC reported that California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, speaking on the...

Gig Economy
Is There A ‘Third Way’ For Uber and Other Gig-Economy Firms To Classify Workers?
August 11, 2020

For gig-economy companies, is it time to make way for the third way? As reported Monday, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wrote in a New York Times op/ed that gig-economy companies like his should set up funds to help pay benefits to workers, ranging from health insurance to...

Gig Economy
Uber CEO Calls On States To Require Gig Worker Benefits
August 10, 2020

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi took to the pages of The New York Times on Monday (Aug. 10) to call upon gig companies, such as ridesharing services, to start paying for benefits for their workers, who are overwhelmingly independent contractors. Khosrowshahi, in an op-ed published on...

Gig Economy
Saving Gig Workers From Predatory Lenders
August 07, 2020

The fact that the U.S. economy added 4.8 million jobs in June might have been missed amid all the bad news, of which there’s been no shortage. The many jobs being added post-pandemic are expanding the gig workforce trend that’s been building for a decade...

Gig Economy
How Personal Shopper Platform Dumpling Aims To Beat Instacart And Amazon
July 17, 2020

Is it really necessary to train a personal grocery shopper how to pick a good banana? It’s a question that Nate D’Anna, serial entrepreneur and founder of personal shopping platform Dumpling, asked rhetorically when recounting his days as an Instacart shopper, an experience that he...