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Amazon responds to backlash with increased protection for workers
Early this week, workers from Amazon, Whole Foods and Instacart walked off the job to protest what they say is a lack of protections against COVID-19. Now, Amazon is sharing its plans to increase employee temperature checks and provide surgical masks to workers across the US and Europe.
Lyft tries offering free bike-share passes to hospital workers
Lyft is offering free, 30-day bike-share passes to critical workers in New York City, Chicago and Boston. This should help people who still have to get to work during the coronavirus pandemic, and to keep them safe, Lyft says it is ramping up its cleaning efforts.
ER docs don smart rings to better predict COVID-19 infections
Some 2,000 emergency medical workers in San Francisco are tracking their temperature and other vitals with Oura's smart rings in an attempt to limit the spread of COVID-19, SF Chronicle reports. Oura and researchers from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) hope to use that data to develop an algorithm that will predict the onset of COVID-19 and help contain the virus.
Amazon confirms the first known COVID-19 case in a US warehouse
Amazon temporarily closed a warehouse in Queens, New York, after an employee tested positive for COVID-19. While two office workers at Amazon's Seattle headquarters have been diagnosed with COVID-19, this is the first confirmed case in a US warehouse, The Atlantic reports. This comes as Amazon is working to keep up with a "significant increase in demand" and hiring an additional 100,000 warehouse employees.
Amazon will hire 100,000 workers to keep up with the surge in demand
To keep up with a "significant increase in demand" due to the coronavirus outbreak, Amazon is hiring an additional 100,000 warehouse and delivery workers in the US. As more people turn to online shopping in an attempt to stay home (and because grocery stores are struggling to keep shelves stocked), Amazon says its labor needs are unprecedented for this time of year.
Tesla reportedly omitted 'hundreds' of injuries from government reports
Over the past several years, Tesla has reportedly omitted "hundreds" of employee injury reports from the annual summaries it sent to California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) agency, according to Bloomberg. In a blog post published last month, Tesla said Cal/OSHA found the company's record-keeping was 99 percent accurate.
Judge says Instacart likely misclassified California workers
California's recently enacted AB5 was aimed at improving working conditions at gig economy companies like Instacart, and it appears to be one of the first firms in the crosshairs. A San Diego county judge has granted a preliminary injunction barring Instacart from misclassifying its grocery shoppers as contractors instead of employees, finding that the state had a "probability of success" in its case against the company's parent Maplebear. The "handwriting is on the wall," the judge said. Whether or not AB5 was the right policy, it was based on a state Supreme Court decision from two years ago and became law -- Instacart couldn't pretend that it was unaware of (or couldn't adjust to) the new rules.
Kickstarter employees vote to unionize
More tech company workers are unionizing in an attempt to improve their bargaining power. A group of 85 Kickstarter employees have voted to unionize, aligning themselves with a branch of the Office and Professional Employees International Union in New York. The staffers will use their collective bargaining power to push for equal pay, more inclusive hiring, greater transparency from management and more of a say in decisions.
Amazon warehouse injury numbers highlight pressure on workers
Amazon's relentless drive for efficiency and to meet its self-imposed tight delivery deadlines has reportedly played a role in serious injuries among warehouse workers. A joint investigation by Reveal and The Atlantic, along with a separate report from Gizmodo, highlighted the extent of the injury epidemic based on Amazon's internal incident reports. They also underscore the pressure employees are facing to hit their targets.
California governor signs labor law meant to fix the gig economy
It was really just a matter of time, but it's now official: California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed the state's Assembly Bill 5 into law. The measure is intended to reclassify many gig economy workers as employees by applying a test that determines whether or not they qualify as contractors. If they do, they have to be free from the control of a company, handle work beyond the typical scope of that company's business and routinely engage in an independently-formed business similar to the work they perform. In theory, this will force many ridesharing and courier companies to offer rudimentary labor rights like minimum wage, overtime and paid leave.
Facebook increases pay for contractors and content moderators
It's no secret that Facebook depends on contract laborers, who do everything from moderate content to help train AI. But the work those contractors do is often anxiety-inducing and under-paid. In response to an exposé by The Verge earlier this year, Facebook said it would improve moderator job conditions. Now, the company says it will increase contractors' pay and offer additional benefits to content moderators.
Amazon's warehouse robots won't replace humans for at least a decade
Are you worried your job is going to be taken by a robot? You needn't be if you work for Amazon, which has dismissed the idea of fully-automated warehouses becoming a reality any time soon. According to Amazon's director of robotics fulfilment, Scott Anderson, such technology in its current form is "very limited."
Uber's fight over worker status is headed to the UK Supreme Court
Uber is about to face a definitive battle over its classification of ridesharing drivers. The UK Court of Appeal has upheld a 2016 ruling that Uber drivers are considered employees and thus qualify for holiday pay, the minimum wage and other protections. As Uber told Wired it planned to appeal the decision in the country's Supreme Court, the company now faces a definitive battle over worker status.
More companies are chipping their workers like pets
The trend of blundering into the void of adopting new tech, damn the consequences, full speed ahead, continues this week. The Telegraph tells us about "a number of UK legal and financial firms" are in talks with a chip company to implant their employees with RFID microchips for security purposes.
Tesla will have to defend itself against claims of foreign worker abuse
A federal judge has ruled that Tesla and two of its subcontractors -- Eisenmann Corp and ISM Vuzem -- will have to defend themselves in a lawsuit that alleges foreign workers were mistreated at Tesla's Fremont factory. The allegations surfaced in 2016, when Gregor Lesnik filed a lawsuit against Tesla and its subcontractors that claimed they exploited foreign workers by paying them less than minimum wage, giving them few days off and threatening them with deportation or no pay when they called in sick or tried to report a job injury. The suit, which seeks class action status, is being brought forward on behalf of workers with B-1 visas employed at construction sites and auto plants.
Amazon admits to labor violations at Echo speaker factory in China
Labor violations are an all too common reality in technology manufacturing, and Amazon just made that patently clear. In the wake of a joint exposé between China Labor Watch and the Guardian, Amazon has acknowledged that a Foxconn factory in Hengyang, China has been violating labor laws while making Echo speakers and Kindle e-readers. A March audit revealed that over 40 percent of staff were low-cost agency workers (who don't get holiday or sick pay and can be laid off without wages), or well over the 10 percent allowed in China. Moreover, employees who worked overtime were paid at their regular rate, rather than the time-and-a-half demanded by both Chinese laws and Amazon itself.
Lyft expands its driver support hubs
Lyft has faced more than one complaint that it isn't doing enough to back ridesharing drivers, and it's tackling that now with plans to expand its support Hubs. It's "nearly doubling" the operational hours for its existing 15 Lyft Hubs as of today, and it's introducing a "next generation" of Hubs this summer. They'll give drivers basic amenities, help desks, learning areas (both for careers and finances) as well as steep discounts on car rentals and maintenance.
California opens investigation into Tesla factory safety
Tesla has been struggling lately to meet its automotive production targets, vowing to run its Model 3 factories "24/7." Unfortunately, they might also be underreporting serious workplace injuries, labeling them "personal medical" to avoid penalties. Now, according to a report at Bloomberg, California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) is opening an official investigation into the allegations.
UK government will finally settle the gig economy ‘worker’ debate
The UK government is making some changes to the rights and working conditions that "gig economy" workers are entitled to. Under its new 'Good Work Plan', legislators will ensure "vulnerable workers" -- defined by low wages -- have access to basic holiday and sick pay. These will be included in "a list of day-one rights" that include the right to a payslip. These measures are designed for zero-hour and agency workers, but could impact Uber and Deliveroo's flexible workforce too. For instance, all workers will have the right to "request" more stable hours, "providing more financial security for [people] on flexible contracts," according to the government.
Japanese company will pay part of workers' salaries in Bitcoin
Employees at a Japanese firm will soon be able to receive part of their salary in Bitcoin, if they're feeling brave enough. GMO Internet, which offers a range of web-related services including a Bitcoin exchange, will pay workers up to 100,000 yen (about $890) starting in February. "Employees can receive salaries by Bitcoin if they want," a company spokesperson said. "We hope to improve our own literacy of virtual currency by actually using it."
