A few weeks ago I suggested that the gig economy still didn’t seem like a very big deal. I based this on the fact that the share of part-time workers isn’t growing, which you’d expect to see if gig work is becoming more common. That’s a crude but fairly effective metric, but I promised to post better evidence if anything came my way.
Now it has. In a new report, Larry Mishel of EPI refers to previous estimates that the gig economy accounts for somewhere between ½-1 percent of the total economy. That’s pretty small, but when you account for total hours worked by typical gig workers it becomes even smaller: (whole story)
Mother Jones
May 23, 2018
The nation is making progress toward full employment, according to recent data, but don’t credit the so-called gig economy. A new report from the Economic Policy Institute shows the impact of tech companies such as Uber has been overrated. Lawrence Mishel, a distinguished fellow with the Institute, said widely publicized hourly earnings for Uber drivers frequently leave out expenses the independent contractors have to cover, including more than 30 percent in fees the company takes off the top, health insurance premiums, and significant wear and tear on their vehicles.
Public News Service
May 23, 2018
A study by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute shows that 56 percent of nonunion private-sector employees are currently subject to mandatory individual arbitration procedures under the 1925 Federal Arbitration Act, which allows employers to bar collective legal actions by employees. The court’s decision means that tens of millions of private nonunion employees will be barred from suing collectively over the terms of their employment.
NPR
May 22, 2018
Arbitration clauses in contracts between both consumers and companies and employers and employees, once almost unheard of, have multiplied over the past several decades. According to a study by the Economic Policy Institute, last year more than 50 percent of private-sector, non-union employers demanded that would-be employees agree to arbitration in the event of a dispute. Just shy of a third also insisted that their workers agree to surrender the right to join a class-action lawsuit.
The Washington Post
May 22, 2018
According to a September survey by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, mandatory arbitration clauses of one kind or another have been imposed on more than half of all U.S. workers. About one-third of all businesses that impose mandatory arbitration clauses specifically forbid class-action lawsuits, the survey found.
Politico
May 22, 2018
Right now, about 60 million workers have already signed away their right to go to court by agreeing to arbitrate disputes with their employers, according to an Economic Policy Institute analysis released last year. About 30 percent of those workers have also signed the kind of class-action waivers that were at issue in this decision.
The Huffington Post
May 22, 2018
About 60 million nonunionized workers in the private sector are covered by arbitration agreements that bar them from going to court to sue over alleged violations of federal workplace laws, according to a survey by the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal group based in Washington. Among them, about 25 million are also required to arbitrate as individuals. Lawyers predicted Monday that number will rise quickly.
Los Angeles Times
May 22, 2018
According to a report last year from the Economic Policy Institute, an estimated 25 million workers ― just under one-quarter of non-union employees in the private sector ― give up their right to join class-action lawsuits as a condition of employment. The report anticipated that waivers would become an “even more widespread practice” in the event the Supreme Court sanctioned them. Class-action lawsuits are often the most powerful way for employees to secure back pay when their minimum wage or overtime rights have been violated or to secure damages when their bosses run afoul of discrimination laws.
The Huffington Post
May 22, 2018
The court’s ruling will have wide-ranging effects for employees. According to the Economic Policy Institute, 24.7 million American workers — 23.1% of all private-sector nonunion employees — have employment contracts that contain the class-action waivers at the heart of Monday’s decision. More broadly, mandatory arbitration procedures that require individual arbitration instead of legal proceedings for workplace disputes affect 60.1 million American workers. … The “inevitable result” of Monday’s ruling, Ginsburg noted in her dissent, is likely to be “the under enforcement of federal and state statutes designed to advance the well-being of vulnerable workers,” such as minimum wage and overtime violations. Mandatory individual arbitration is likely to deter workers from fighting their disputes, Ginsburg explained, as the cost of individual proceedings often outweigh the potential reward and workers may fear retaliation if they make their claims alone. The Economic Policy Institute also noted that only 21.4% of mandatory arbitration cases brought by employees are successful, as compared with 36.4% of federal court cases and 57% of state court cases.
Mic
May 22, 2018
The ruling — written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was nominated to the bench by President Trump in 2017 — immediately affects an estimated 25 million contracts, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Labor lawyers say it will embolden employers to add such provisions to contracts going forward, knowing the courts will support them.
Buzzfeed
May 22, 2018