State Cheated Out of Hundreds of Millions
of Dollars in Benefit Contributions
BOSTON, April 30,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Massachusetts State
Auditor Diana DiZoglio released an official report documenting
how companies like Uber and Lyft have cheated the state's employee
protection programs out of hundreds of millions of dollars by
misclassifying workers as independent contractors.
According to conservative estimates, Uber and Lyft have avoided
paying more than $266 million into
the state's workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, and paid
family leave programs over the past 10 years, including an
estimated $47 million in 2023
alone.
The report, "Assessing Transportation Network Companies'
Financial Obligations to Massachusetts Programs," did not include
how much money worker misclassification has cost the state in other
programs like food and health care assistance.
"The Massachusetts State Auditor's report exposes the true cost
of worker misclassification. Companies like Uber and Lyft are
exploiting workers and taxpayers in the name of innovation and
convenience,' said Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien. "These greedy corporations must
be held accountable. Labor legislation must change to ensure
employers take full responsibility for their employees and follow
the laws just like everyone else. The Teamsters strongly encourage
all states to conduct similar audits as Massachusetts. Big Tech is fleecing the
American people, and we need the whole of government to take the
right position and fight back."
"The report confirms Uber and Lyft are stealing wages from
workers and operating as wholesale tax cheats at the same time,"
said Tom Mari, President of
Teamsters Local 25 and Secretary-Treasurer of Joint Council 10.
"They are getting away with highway robbery, depriving the
Commonwealth of millions in tax revenue, and financing
million-dollar campaigns to sidestep our laws. And at the root of
this is the lie of worker misclassification. These employers must
acknowledge and take care of their employees. Anything else is
simply a scam."
State Senator Lydia Edwards
(D-Third Suffolk) and State Representative Andy Vargas (D-Third Essex) have introduced two
bills backed by the Teamsters, S.627 and H.1158. The proposed
legislation would extend collective bargaining rights to workers at
app-based companies while strengthening state and federal statutes
to protect employees from being misclassified as independent
contractors.
"A comprehensive approach based on existing well-tested laws is
what makes sense. This report tells us what we already knew that
Uber and Lyft aren't playing by the rules, and we are losing
hundreds of millions of dollars," said Edwards. "We can't let them
change the rules and leave the good people of Massachusetts to pick up the tab."
The Teamsters' endorsement of the Edwards-Vargas legislation
comes amid a push by tech giants like Uber, Lyft, and Instacart to
force a referendum on the November ballot. If passed, it would
validate many app-based companies' unlawful business model, which
exploits misclassification to deprive workers of collective
bargaining rights, minimum wage protections, overtime eligibility,
unemployment insurance, and other benefits reserved for W-2
employees.
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters
represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto
Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on
Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at
Facebook.com/teamsters.
Contact:
Daniel Moskowitz, (770)
262-4971
dmoskowitz@teamster.org
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SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters