Posted on 3/23/2017
In five short years, Uber has shaken up much more than just the taxi industry. With the success of its "driver partner" business model, the ride-sharing giant has helped scramble the very concept of employment, forcing riders and regulators alike to ask themselves who qualifies as a worker and what constitutes work. Those questions were around long before iPhone apps and surge pricing. But the sheer popularity of Uber -- and the rapid growth of its driver network -- has forced a debate over how to classify workers in the so-called on-demand economy. And even labor experts who are often on the same side can't seem to agree on how to do it. Last year, economist Alan Krueger and former Labor Department official Seth Harris penned a much-discussed paper arguing that Uber drivers and ... read more