Search

The misclassification of employees as independent contractors has been the focus of recent attention as a result of the implementation of that employment model by ride-share and other gig employers. But the practice long predates the emergence of the gig economy, particularly in the construction industry. This article traces the history of misclassification in construction and the subsequent emergence of a cash-based underground system of compensation, which have lowered standards and been among the major causes of the decline of union density in the industry. In addition, the author examines the regulatory environment at the federal level, which has largely enabled misclassification as well as attempts by state agencies to adopt more aggressive enforcement policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 63rd Annual Indian Society of Labour Economics Conference took place in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, focusing on youth employment, rural labor markets, and the impact of COVID-19 on the economy. The conference aimed to provide recommendations for government policies to promote development. Discussions covered topics such as climate change, women entrepreneurship, labor market dynamics, and social barriers. The conference also addressed issues like domestic work, the informal sector, and the challenges faced by migrant workers. Recommendations included recognizing care work, investing in the care sector, and creating decent livelihoods in hill economies. The conference highlighted the need for understanding diverse perspectives, improving labor conditions, and advocating for vulnerable workers. It also discussed technical and vocational education, talent management, and the benefits of assistive technologies. The conference addressed youth unemployment, the gig economy, and the quality of employment. It also explored women's health, childbearing, and policy recommendations for increased public investment and vocational education. The conference focused on changing rural labor markets, rural diversification, and the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable groups and sectors. It emphasized the need for improved education, skill formation, and support for rural workers. The conference concluded with discussions on informality and the importance of tailored policies. [Extracted from the article]

Food-delivery digital labour platforms started to operate in Spain in 2016. As in other national contexts, these platforms have misclassified workers as independent contractors rather than employees, shifting responsibilities and risks onto workers who have been forced to operate under marketized relationships lacking protection. This paper analyses trade unions practices and strategies targeted towards food-delivery platform workers (riders) in Spain. The findings are based on desk research and fieldwork consisting of semi-structured interviews with representatives from different trade unions and self-organized workers' associations. The article shows how trade unions' strategies resting on litigation and social dialogue ended up with the first legislation in Europe which introduced a rebuttable presumption of employment in the field of delivery platforms. At the same time, it shows the limitation of those strategies resting on institutional power resources due to the fragmentation of workers' interests and the newly platforms' strategies to circumvent labour law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a research study conducted at PT Bank Nagari in West Sumatra, which examines the factors that influence job satisfaction and employee performance. The study finds that organizational culture and compensation have a positive impact on job satisfaction, which in turn affects employee performance. The study suggests that improving these factors can enhance job satisfaction and improve employee performance. The research emphasizes the need to consider the context and development of the study when analyzing the results. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: Intrapreneurial ability (IA) of employees strengthens an organization's internal as well as external growth. Employees' IA makes innovation a continuous practice and augments organization's intellectual capital (IC). This intellectual capital-based intrapreneurial ability (ICIA) helps professionals to effectively handle changes in the business ecosystem by creating innovative solutions. The onus of assessing and inculcating ICIA is a joint responsibility of both academia and industry. In academia, teacher as a servant leader (TASL) contributes towards building ICIA of working professionals (WP) by enhancing their self-efficacy (SE). The paper aims to strengthen the industry–academia interface by analyzing the role of TASL and SE in influencing the ICIA of WP. Design/methodology/approach: Using a stratified sampling technique, data from 387 WP is analyzed on SmartPLS-4 to study the interrelationship between the stated constructs and the role of SE as a mediator between TASL and ICIA. PLSpredict is used to study the predictive relevance of the proposed model. Findings: High R2 = 0.654 shows that 65% of ICIA is determined by SE and TASL; reflecting model's robustness. SE partially mediates the relationship between TASL and ICIA. Results reported a higher ICIA of male WP than their female counterpart. The results indicate the low predictive accuracy of the model. Practical implications: The proposed model of industry–academia partnership allows assessment of ICIA for enhancing corporate value in the present gig economy. The study also highlights the relevance of ICIA, particularly, for developing economies. In knowledge-driven economy, exploring the new ICIA will help organizations to draft a more robust performance measurement system. Originality/value: This unique industry–academia partnership studies the role of TASL towards enhancing SE and ICIA of WP. The novelty of ICIA would enrich and provide a new perspective in IA literature. Additionally, the study also examines the role of gender in the ICIA of WP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article argues that drivers employed in transportation network companies (TNC) do not have flexibility as they are considered independent contractors, allowing for driver exploitation. Topics discussed include exemption of independent contractors from U.S. labor and employment laws, legislative history and remedial intent of the Fair Labor Standards Act and National Labor Relations Act, societal reliance on work flexibility, and TNC incentives toward algorithmic management and shift work.

This document provides an overview of the challenges faced by professional wrestlers in the WWE and the need for a wrestlers' union to address these issues. Wrestlers are classified as independent contractors, which means they lack health insurance, benefits, and control over their appearances and activities. The document discusses the low compensation and lack of benefits compared to athletes in other professional sports. It also explores the potential for unionization among WWE wrestlers and the recent court decision that may extend the statutory labor dispute exemption to independent contractors. The document concludes by suggesting that the formation of a union in the WWE is possible, given the competitive market for wrestlers' labor and potential support from organizations like SAG-AFTRA. [Extracted from the article]

The article offers information on the "The Future of New York City: Charting an Equitable Recovery for All" conference to be held in New York City in March 2022.

Managing employee turnover is a key function in human resource management (HRM) that has become especially relevant given current staff shortages. The travel and tourism industry has been strongly affected, with many organizations having difficulty attracting and retaining workers. Portugal, as a prominent player in tourism, is no exception, and the workforce shortage crisis has been discussed in various forums and has attracted media attention. The present study examined hotel employees' turnover intention and its relationship with their job satisfaction and positive perceptions of internal communication and organizational support. The proposed theoretical model included that internal communication contributes to the quality of employee–organization relationships by increasing perceived organizational support and job satisfaction, which in turn serve as sequential mediators of hotel workers' diminished intent to leave their employer. Multiple regression analyses were performed using data collected from 12 hotels (number = 370 workers). The results support the model as they confirm that a statistically significant negative relationship exists between employees' satisfaction with internal communication and their turnover intention. These variables are both directly and indirectly connected through perceived organizational support and job satisfaction. Implications for HRM are discussed including the importance of refining internal organizational communication to strengthen employee–organization ties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shipbreaker, a game where players disassemble ships to enrich the coffers of a ruthless corporation, is a canny satire of the modern corporate doublespeak that positions corporations as bastions of freedom and social responsibility even as they systematically immiserate their highly skilled 'independent contractors' and strip them of their basic rights. However, the game crossed a line for some players in that it loudly and unapologetically advocates for unionization and collective industrial action as a counter to corporate greed and exploitation. While this player hostility is simply a reflection of the long-term success of anti-labour initiatives, particularly in North America, it is also fair to ask how seriously we should regard a pro-union message from within an industry whose exploitative treatment of workers is legendary. More problematically, the game not only fails to deliver on its satirical premise, but manages to reinscribe in its gameplay some of the very elements the satire sets out to challenge. This may be due in part to a widespread cultural confusion concerning the nature of satire, but the example of Shipbreaker also suggests that the Early Access development model may itself place severe limits on the satirical potential of games. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In December 2021, the European Commission proposed a directive creating five criteria for the presumed classification of platform economy workers as salaried employees. The issue is timely, of course, as the digital organisation of work continues to grow rapidly. Our article contrasts the merits and limitations of this initiative to the Canadian experience concerning so‐called independent contractors in the platform economy. In fact, Canadian labour law has long recognised a third status of workers—dependent contractors. It permits collective bargaining, while platform workers remain autonomous, notably for tax purposes. Immediately, the striking similarities between the European Union’s five criteria and judicial tests applied by Canadian labour tribunals seem to indicate that both entities are moving in the same direction. However, the federal structure of labour law in Canada and the single market’s social dimension also pose important challenges regarding the uniform implementation of new protections. Based on recent fieldwork in Toronto, and as the European Union directive moves into the approval and implementation stages, our article addresses the research question of how basic labour rights in the platform economy progress similarly (or differently), and which actors are driving the change on each side of the Atlantic. We argue that this policy field provides labour market actors with opportunities for “institutional experimentation” navigating the openings and limitations of federalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the considerable visible and hidden costs associated with voluntary job turnover and the fact that independent contract workers ("gig workers") can change jobs with ease, it is imperative for managers and scholars to understand the reasons why someone joins a company in an effort to hire workers who will stay with the company longer. A commercial research panel company, Dynata, was used to collect data from current and former independent contract workers. After a rigorous screening protocol, data were collected retrospectively from 495 current and 456 former direct sellers, since direct selling is one of the oldest forms and largest categories of gig work. A binary logistic regression analysis enabled prediction of voluntary job turnover based on the number of reasons for joining the company. Findings from statistical analysis of the reasons for joining a company showed that the greater the number of reasons given for joining, the greater the likelihood of staying with the company. Additionally, statistically significant differences were observed between the current and former direct sellers for nine of the 12 reasons investigated. Importantly, from a predictive modeling perspective, it was possible to predict whether a direct seller would stay with the company or quit the company based on the number of reasons for joining the company. The research has implications for both theory and practice. Utilizing theoretical underpinnings from organizational and behavioral management literatures, pre- and post-employment variables establish the framework for pursuing a better understanding of pre-employment motives for joining a company. Despite calls for more research on individual differences in joining a company, past research efforts may have been hindered by the failure to explore new approaches, new agendas, and new methodologies. Theoretically, the research shows that there is a need to ensure the inclusion of pre-employment motive constructs in examining the construct of voluntary job turnover. Managerially, the cost of turnover is significant, and this is particularly true for salesforce turnover. Reducing the rate of voluntary salesforce turnover even by a small percentage could (1) lead to greater effectiveness, efficiency, and profitability for companies, (2) result in less time invested in a job for which an individual is not necessarily motivated to pursue successfully long-term, and (3) ensure consistent product and service delivery for customers. Little is known about gig workers, and this research project focuses on one of the original gig workforce cadres, direct selling. Additionally, this research is unique in its approach to collecting data retrospectively from current and former independent contract workers as well as in the predictive abilities offered by the data and subsequent statistical modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fissuring of business enterprises--which involves the shifting of work from lead firms to smaller, less accountable entities or independent contractors--harms workers by increasing violations of basic labor standards, lowering wages, and limiting access to benefits tied to traditional employment. The vexing nature of this problem for employment law and policy is currently exemplified by the ongoing debates on how to classify gig economy workers, including drivers for Uber and other rideshare companies. This Article discusses the daunting challenges of the next generation of fissuring: a firm's utilization of web applications, algorithms, and other innovations to create a layered enterprise that avoids anything approaching employment. From a labor cost-avoidance perspective, the ideal enterprise structure is one in which the firm profits from the delivery of goods and services without actually employing any of the workers who contribute their labor. As this incentive intersects with emergent technology, I predict the rise of many visible, high-value firms that--unlike the commonly discussed Uber and rideshare companies--will operate well removed from employer-like control over their core activities. I call this business model "apployment." While some such enterprises have already emerged in the sharing economy, I contend that apployment will spread. Using illustrative examples from different sectors, including construction, apparel, and even legal education, I demonstrate how many types of firms can achieve apployment, eluding employment of the workers who produce and distribute their goods and services. I conclude that current law is ill-equipped to respond to the proliferation of such apployment structures and provide a framework for rethinking how to protect worker welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article, the author discusses issues involving independent contractors in the U.S., particularly on whether they have the right to form unions under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Also cited are the efforts to provide collective rights to gig and other independent contractor workers, the provisions of federal antitrust laws, and how the interaction between federal labor laws and antitrust laws affect the categorization of said contractors.

Purpose: This article aims to build on the insights from the systematic reviews included in this special issue (SI) on frontline service employees (FLE) by adding practitioner perspectives. Its purpose is to gauge knowledge, awareness and practices from industry and government regarding topics related to frontline workers and to offer critical and, in places, provocative insights on the relevance of scholarly focus in serving the needs of industry. Design/methodology/approach: Insights were developed through consultation with managers who are responsible for leading frontline employees, who offered insights on the important issues affecting their workforce as well as direct comments on each of the key topics covered in this SI articles. Additional insights were gathered through a review of policy document reviews with relevant government agencies and trade publications, a review of a body of conference topics and speakers and personal reflections developed over decades of consulting work. Findings: This paper presents insights from industry about looming challenges facing managers of frontline service employees, including a forecasted worsening of labor force availability to perform many frontline jobs; growing competition for workers from other sectors; a relatively shallow understanding by industry of academic research topics on workforce in service; the emerging increased cooperation between industry and governments to address these challenges and a clear deficit in necessary frontline skills. Originality/value: This paper provides rare and direct insights from industry practitioners about current and critical topics investigated by academic researchers and offers opportunities for further collaboration and collective thought on addressing global challenges faced by frontline service employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that Minnesota Legislature passed SF3035, a measure that bans nearly all post-termination noncompete agreements with employees and independent contractors in the state of Minnesota. It mentions bill entitled the "Omnibus Jobs and Economic Development and Labor Funding Bill," was signed into law by Governor Tim Walz on May 24, 2023. It also mentions legislation represents a significant shift in Minnesota's labor and employment law.

This article argues that the gig economy is an exploitative extension of the informal economy. With its decentralised promise of individual entrepreneurship, I will argue that it places undue burdens on the worker as an 'independent contractor' that would otherwise be upheld by the employer. I will do so by applying a Marcusian analysis of the gig economy, highlighting two primary concerns. First, Marcuse's critique of 'industrial rationality' explains how industrial rationality creates the framework for - and justification of - exploitation within the gig economy. Second, as Wendy Brown notes, following Marcuse, the gig economy promotes the neoliberal notion of 'self-care' as a means of absolving corporations from any duty towards their employees. More specifically, 'self-care' within the gig economy forms part of the exploitation of workers within the informal economy which is often viewed as a buffer to absorb the unemployed within a neoliberal society. Building on this critique, I refer to the work of Byung-Chul Han and his concept of 'self-exploitation,' arguing that the gig economy should be considered an extension of an informal economy, in which workers are left in a perpetual state of servitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on an exploratory aspect of a larger study that examines unfair dismissal arbitration decisions relating to misconduct derived dismissals made by Australia's federal industrial tribunal. The central proposition explored is that an association occurs between the arbitrator's work history and their decision to overturn a dismissal. The arbitrators' previous occupations were classified based on their alignment with unitarist (employer harmony) and pluralist (worker interests) frameworks, or the 'blended' place in between. Subsequent logistic regression modelling allowed us to identify three types of arbitral decision styles: systems‐driven, evidence‐based and restorative‐voice. These decision styles offer our readership a descriptive framework that consolidates statistically significant decision factors. Australian media reports and professional forums scrutinise the appointment of members to its national industrial tribunal and the decisions that they make. The decision styles presented here can inform organisational stakeholders, including workers, HR managers, supervisors, unions and industry bodies who need to apply and/or respond to misconduct‐driven dismissal processes or formulate relevant policies, processes and systems such as codes of conduct or performance management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Department of the Treasury released Notice 2023-38 on May 12, 2023, which establishes rules for testing an applicable "green" energy facility's eligibility for a bonus federal income tax credit amount, as enacted under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, attributable to the steel, iron, or manufactured product that is a component of such facility being produced in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of employment classification has been central in the politics around the platform economy. Crucial has been the phenomenon of 'bogus self-employment', whereby workers in de facto dependent employment relationships conduct services as independent contractors. Legislators around the world have aimed to tackle this issue by obliging platforms to classify their workers as employees. Based on empirical research in the ride-hailing industry of Berlin, Paris and Lisbon, where such classification exists already, we highlight its contradictory outcomes. We argue that platform companies have managed to introduce forms of 'bogus employment' whereby even formally employed workers lack basic worker rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Stanovništvo is the property of Demographic Research Center of Institute of Social Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This Article analyzes the role that scheduling flexibility has played in the public conversation around employee and independent contractor status and matches public perception against both the law of flexible scheduling and the facts of worker experience. Drawing on data including an original textual analysis of public comments submitted during a federal rulemaking, the Article finds that many workers misperceive independent contracting as the only way to achieve schedule flexibility. This is wrong on the law, as employers are free to build flexibility into whatever work relationships they establish. Moreover, both the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act mandate schedule flexibility as an accommodation for covered employees' or their families' needs. However, workers' perception may be right on the facts--that is to say, worker-controlled scheduling may be functionally unavailable for most employees outside white collar, knowledge, and office jobs. The public narrative around schedule flexibility may therefore say as much about the poor state of employee status as it does about the supposed benefits of independent contracting. This is concerning for the employment and labor law project, which has built up a formidable set of rights, benefits, and protections exclusively available to employees, but which workers may reject in favor of seemingly more flexible independent contracting. Thus, the Article attempts to understand worker perceptions of and preferences for flexible scheduling, the tradeoffs they are willing to accept, and what this means for employment and labor law and policy. This analysis is particularly necessary now, as the employee-independent contractor distinction remains a battleground in state and federal legislatures, agencies, and the courts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst the CSR concept has done some good and it continues to be pervasive among organisations that are trying to demonstrate what they are doing for society, this is largely led by consumer pressure and the media support for the concept, which has not changed ([39]), thus the concept is rightfully studied in the academic community and has a significant place in the I CCIJ i too. CSA is a situation where companies take a stance on a social and/or political issue, often a controversial one ([9]) and because many companies go beyond the usual CSR initiatives, researchers started to study CSA as a distinctive concept separated from CSR. This is true, and as I have argued in a digital transformation editorial, as well as in an editorial on listening ([40], [41]), organisations indeed consist of humans and are not self-contained organisms, thus it is true that humans in the organisations can make choices that will change the world and turn corporations into organisations that do better. CSR usually has several components such as environmental responsibility (organisations should be as environmentally friendly as possible), ethical responsibility (organisations should operate in a fair and ethical manner), philanthropic responsibility (organisations should try to make the world and society a better place) and economic responsibility (financial decisions of organisations should be aligned to commitments expressed in other three areas of responsibility) ([36]). [Extracted from the article]

Uber and Lyft currently treat their California drivers as independent contractors, despite state employment law giving the drivers employee status. The companies claim that drivers are already well-paid and that employee status would bring the industry to its knees. Driver advocates claim that drivers are low-paid and do not receive basic benefits and protections, such as unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation, and that the companies should treat the drivers as employees and adhere to California employment law.I examine here the economic and financial consequences of switching the drivers to employee status. In particular, I examine the effects on pay and employment of the drivers, the effects on passengers, and the profitability of the industry. I find that: most drivers are paid much less than the current minimum wage and that overall compensation of drivers would increase 30 percent; that driver schedule flexibility would not be affected; passenger demand would fall by 1 or 2 percent; and profits of the companies would increase.

The quality of chemical management depends more or less on practical procedures used to assess chemicals. This study quantitatively assessed the efficacy of a derivation procedure for calculating no‐effect concentrations for screening assessment of environmental hazards under the Chemical Substance Control Law in Japan. We first evaluated the derivation procedure by applying a series of test ecotoxicity datasets to the procedure and calculating the resulting misclassification rates of the hazardous class of chemicals. In this study, a chemical was deemed to have been misclassified if its classification differed from its classification based on the full dataset (chronic toxicity data for three trophic levels), which was defined as the correct assignment. We also calculated the effects of additional uncertainty factors to decrease the variance (i.e., to improve the consistency) of the misclassification rates among cases with different data availability in the derivation procedure. The results showed that the derivation procedure resulted in very high rates of misclassification when only particular sets of ecotoxicity data were available (e.g., only chronic toxicity data of algae were available). Our analyses also showed that the use of additional uncertainty factors improved the consistency of the misclassification rates within the derivation procedure. Our study presents a broadly applicable calculation framework for quantifying error rates in assessment procedures and serves as a case study for future development and reforms of chemical assessment processes and policies, while additional analyses using more extensive ecotoxicity data with various modes of actions are needed in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]