📺 Stream EntrepreneurTV for Free 📺

Another Peer-to-Peer Startup Just Turned Its Contract Workers Into Employees California's ruling that an Uber driver must be classified as an employee is rippling across the sharing economy.

By Claire Zillman

entrepreneur daily

This story originally appeared on Fortune Magazine

Shyp via Facebook

After the California labor commission ruled last month that Uber drivers must be classified as employees, Fortune reported that other companies in the sharing economy that rely on similar employee arrangements would need to tweak their relationships with workers or risk facing similar lawsuits that could end the same way.

At least two companies have already opted for the first option. On Wednesday, Kevin Gibbon, CEO of Shyp, announced in a blog post that the shipping services company is reclassifying its couriers from 1099 workers—the tax designation for independent contractors—to regular W2 employees. Gibbon said that the decision was based on the company's interest in owning the end-to-end Shyp experience. "It is not in response to recent lawsuits against other technology companies. We're doing this because we want to make the Shyp experience as good as it can be, for our customers and workforce alike. Our couriers interact directly with our customers more than anyone else," he wrote.

As a result of the reclassification, couriers will receive workers' compensation. The company will also cover vehicle expenses and pay unemployment, Social Security, and medicare taxes for the couriers. "Depending upon hours worked, we will provide additional benefits such as health care," Gibbon said in his post.

Shyp's announcement comes a week after Instacart, a grocery delivery startup, made a similar decision. Instacart said it would reclassify some of its shoppers, who select grocery items ordered by customers from store shelves, from 1099 workers to part-time employees. Like Gibbon, Instacart's founder and CEO Apoorva Mehta said his decision was aimed at improving customer service as well as the quality of the grocery items the shoppers pick. The reclassification will cost the company significant money upfront since it will require Instacart to pay additional employment taxes. "In the long term, as a result of trust and loyalty we will build with customers, it should be the right thing to do," Mehta told Bloomberg News.

On June 17, the California labor commission found that a former San Francisco-based Uber driver should not have been treated as an independent contractor but instead as an employee. The non-binding decision, which Uber has appealed, hinged on the degree of control that Uber asserts over its drivers. Uber drivers must pass background and DMV checks, they must register their cars with Uber, and their cars must be less than 10 years old. Drivers' passenger approval ratings must also not fall below a certain score. And Uber sets the price for each trip and the driver receives a non-negotiable service fee.

"[Uber holds itself] out as nothing more than a neutral technological platform, designed simply to enable drivers and passengers to transact the business of transportation," the commission wrote. "The reality, however, is that [Uber is] involved in every aspect of the operation."

The ruling should have put other companies that rely on independent contractors on high alert, according to Miriam Cherry, a professor at St. Louis University School of Law who has been tracking crowdfunding and the sharing economy since 2007. "Companies can do well by acknowledging that they're in the business of labor, and that involves paying a decent wage," Cherry told Fortune last month. If not, she said, "they run the risk of going in front of juries, which creates uncertainty for their business models, workers, investors. It makes more sense for them to figure out what compliance looks like."

Claire Zillman is a writer at Fortune.com

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Side Hustle

3 Secrets to Starting a Small Business Side Hustle That Gives Your Day Job a Run for Its Money, According to People Who Did Just That — and Made Millions

Almost anyone can start a side hustle — but only those ready to level up can use it to out-earn their 9-5s.

Business News

Jeff Bezos and Amazon Execs Used An Encrypted Messaging App to Talk About 'Sensitive Business Matters,' FTC Alleges

The FTC's filing claims Bezos and other execs used a disappearing message feature even after Amazon knew it was being investigated.

Business News

'My Mouth Dropped': Woman Goes Viral For Sharing Hilarious Cake Decorating Mishap at Walmart

Peyton Chimack has received over 703,000 views on her TikTok post of her birthday cake.

Business News

Elon Musk Reveals His Tactics for Building Successful Companies, Including Sleeping Under His Desk and 'Working Every Waking Hour'

Musk shared the secrets on a podcast with Nicolai Tangen, CEO of the $1.6 trillion Norges Bank.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business News

Ring Camera Owners Will Receive $5.6 Million in Payments After FTC-Amazon Settlement. Here's How Many Customers Are Eligible — And How They'll Get the Cash.

The payouts are a result of a June 2023 settlement with Amazon over privacy violation allegations against the camera company.