加州法院認為 Uber 與 Lyft 的司機是員工

先前在其他地區已經有很多判例了,這次會特別記錄下來是因為加州是 UberLyft 的總部:「Uber and Lyft ordered by California judge to classify drivers as employees」。

裡面有提到了去年九月加州政府通過了法案 (California Assembly Bill 5,簡稱 AB 5),把 ABC Test 放進法律,取代了之前的 Borello test,用來判斷聘顧關係 (是否為員工,或是獨立的合約關係):

Under the ABC test, a worker is considered an employee and not an independent contractor, unless the hiring entity satisfies all three of the following conditions:

  • The worker is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of the work and in fact;
  • The worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business; and
  • The worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as that involved in the work performed.

現在需要這三點都成立才會認定為獨立的合約聘顧關係,雖然還有上訴的機會,但翻盤的機率應該不高,記得這個法案當初就是針對 Uber 跟 Lyft...

兩則跟 Uber 有關的消息,裁員與加州的新法...

Uber 從上市後的股價就不太好看,五月的時候以 $45 開盤,最近來到了 $33 左右,走到裁員這步不算太意外:「Uber lays off 435 people across engineering and product teams」。

以人數來算大約是 8%,有蠻大一部份是工程團段 (也不太意外):

Uber has laid off 435 employees across its product and engineering teams, the company announced today. Combined, the layoffs represent about 8% of the organization, with 170 people leaving the product team and 265 people leaving the engineering team.

另外一個相關的消息是加州通過法律,補上漏洞,對於這種以「合約關係」而認為不是員工的行為加以約束,認定這其實就是聘顧關係,所以相關的資方義務都必須被履行:「California Bill Makes App-Based Companies Treat Workers as Employees」。

法律上的官方文件可以參考「AB-5 Worker status: employees and independent contractors.」這邊,先用翻譯快速看了一下... 可以看出來勞方市場的行業被放進排除條款,因為這些領域勞方有比較強勢的談判籌碼,應該讓市場決定規則。而對於資方強勢的行業則是朝著保護勞工的條款而設計。

現在已經有感覺共享經濟的神話開始不斷的被戳破...

Elsevier 限制加州大學的存取權限

三月的時候加州大學系統 (UC) 因為 Elsevier 不接受 open access 的條件而公開宣佈不續約 (參考「加州大學宣佈不與 Elsevier 續約」),後來 Elsevier 應該是試著看看有沒有機會繼續合作,所以在這段期間還是一直提供服務給加州大學系統。

前幾天在 Hacker News 上看到「Elsevier cuts off UC’s access to its academic journals (latimes.com)」,總算是確定要動手了:「In act of brinkmanship, a big publisher cuts off UC’s access to its academic journals」。

不過也不是直接拔掉,而是限制存取權,看不到新東西 (以 2019/01/01 為界):

As of Wednesday, Elsevier cut off access by UC faculty, staff and students to articles published since Jan. 1 in 2,500 Elsevier journals, including respected medical publications such as Cell and the Lancet and a host of engineering and scientific journals. Access to most material published in 2018 and earlier remains in force.

UC 提出的商業模式是讓投稿者負擔費用,而存取者不需要負擔,與現有的商業模式剛好相反。UC 提出的模式鼓勵「知識的散佈」,而現有的商業模式則是反過來,希望透過知識的散佈而賺~大~錢~發~大~財~:

UC demanded that the new contract reflect the principle of open access — that work produced on its campuses be available to all outside readers, for free.

That was a direct challenge to the business model of Elsevier and other big academic publishers. Traditionally, the publishers accept papers for publication for free but charge steep subscription fees. UC is determined to operate under an alternative model, in which researchers pay to have their papers published but not for subscriptions.

另外在 Hacker News 上的 comment 裡看到一些專案也正在進行,像是歐洲的「Plan S」也是在推動 open access:

The plan requires scientists and researchers who benefit from state-funded research organisations and institutions to publish their work in open repositories or in journals that are available to all by 2021.

另外「PubPub · Community Publishing」也是 open source 領域裡蠻有趣的計畫,後面看起來也有不少學術單位在支持。

加州大學宣佈不與 Elsevier 續約

加州大學 (這是一個大學系統,包括了十個校區,超過 25 萬的學生與 14 萬的教職員) 認為 Elsevier 沒有達到 open access 應有的標準,決定將不再跟 Elsevier 續約,並且發出新聞稿抨擊 Elsevier:「UC terminates subscriptions with world’s largest scientific publisher in push for open access to publicly funded research」。

As a leader in the global movement toward open access to publicly funded research, the University of California is taking a firm stand by deciding not to renew its subscriptions with Elsevier. Despite months of contract negotiations, Elsevier was unwilling to meet UC’s key goal: securing universal open access to UC research while containing the rapidly escalating costs associated with for-profit journals.

這應該是美國頂尖學院裡面的第一槍?後續會帶動多少單位不續訂...

加州打算強制規定新房子都要有太陽能...

加州打算直接從法律上規定從 2020 年開始的新房子都要有太陽能:「California set to become first US state requiring solar panels on new homes」。

The state’s Energy Commission is due to vote next week on new energy standards that would require virtually all new homes to be constructed with solar panels from 2020.

如果通過的話,從 20% 直接變成強制性的 100%:

Currently around 20 per cent of single-family homes are constructed with solar capacity built in, but if the new standards are approved as expected this proportion will rise sharply.

下個禮拜回來看看消息好了,這應該是蠻指標性的事情... 無論是在經濟上還是在環保題材上。

加州在四月將會開放無人自駕車上路了...

TechCrunch 看到加州要開放自駕車上路了:「California to allow testing of self-driving cars without a driver present」。

California’s Department of Motor Vehicles established new rules announced Monday that will allow tech companies and others working on driverless vehicle systems to begin trialling their cars without a safety driver at the wheel. The new rules go into effect starting April 2.

不過不是完全獨立運作,而是有附加條件,讓遠端的控制中心可以在必要時介入:

This doesn’t mean test vehicles will be out there on the roads without any kind of human intervention backup – the DMV will require that those testing autonomous cars without a driver present have a dedicated communications channel that ties the car to a remote operator, who can take over if needed. The cars will also need to be hardened against cyber attacks and be able to provide their owner and operator info to any other parties in the event of an accident.

馬上想到刷機 JB... XD

加州也禁止詢問之前的薪資了

在「California bosses can no longer ask you about your previous salary」這邊看到的消息。繼「麻州立法禁止詢問前一份工作的薪資」與「紐約市也將禁止雇主詢問薪資」後,加州也加入了這個行列。

The salary privacy bill, was enacted by Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday, Oct. 12, at a celebratory signing ceremony at Women’s Empowerment, a Sacramento nonprofit for homeless women. He was surrounded by members of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus.

法案將於 2018 年生效:

The salary privacy bill takes effect on January 1, 2018.

加州的手機防竊提案讓失竊率下降不少...

2013 的時候提過「加州的手機防竊提案...」,後來在 2015 年生效:

In a press release sent to reporters on Thursday, George Gascón said that since the law went into effect on July 1, 2015[,]

在兩大陣營都有類似的功能:

Such a kill switch has become standard in all iPhones ("Activation Lock") and Android phones ("Device Protection") since 2015.

而執行到現在已經兩年了,手機的失竊率下降不少:「San Francisco DA: Anti-theft law results in huge drop in stolen phones」。

[S]martphone-related robberies have fallen 22 percent from 2015 to 2016. When measured from the peak in 2013, "overall robberies involving smartphones have declined an astonishing 50 percent."

變成要找人殺肉才能處理,增加被竊後的處理難度與成本...

Facebook 的臉部辨認系統將被搬上法院,確認是否違法

在「Lawsuit challenging Facebook’s facial recognition system moves forward」這邊提到了 Facebook 的臉部辨認系統將被搬上法院確認是否違法。

Facebook 首先提出 Terms of Service 內規定不受依利諾州法律管理,只受加州以及聯邦法律管理,而依利諾州推翻這項規範,認為原告有權在依利諾州提起訴訟:

Today's decision focused on the question of whether the Illinois law is applicable to Facebook, one of the major legal hurdles facing the plaintiffs. Facebook's Terms of Service maintains that the the company is only bound by California and federal laws, and the company had moved to dismiss the case on those grounds. But today, the judge ruled that the terms-of-service clause isn't sufficient to nullify the Illinois law. As a result, the plaintiffs have a valid claim under the Illinois biometrics law and the case can proceed.

來拉板凳了...

加州在規劃廢除日光節約時間

加州在規劃廢除日光節約時間:「California could drop Daylight Saving Time」。

A California lawmaker has introduced a bill to unshackle the Golden State from the horological chains of Daylight Saving Time.

主要是沒有實質效益,甚至是與當初預期的反效果:

Daylight saving time is observed in about 70 countries worldwide, but its benefits are the subject of much debate. While studies in the 1970s argued that it reduced energy usage, it’s no longer clear that’s the case. A 2011 study in Indiana found that electricity use rose in the state as a result of daylight saving.