From the Courthouse News Service,
Two California district attorneys are teaming up to sue a home cleaning and repair gig company for allegedly misclassifying tens of thousands of workers as independent contractors.
The district attorneys of San Francisco and Los Angeles on Wednesday sued the New York-based company Handy, which operates an online application that allows customers to schedule home-cleaning and repair services.
“Handy classifies its workers that perform the central core function of its business as independent contractors when, actually, under the law they are Handy’s employees,” San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin said in a Facebook live video announcing the lawsuit Wednesday.
Handy, a company started by Harvard Business School classmates Oisin Hanrahan and Umang Dua in 2012, has scheduled home-cleaning and repair gigs for tens of thousands of workers in California, according to the San Francisco DA’s office.
The lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court accuses Handy of failing to pay minimum wage and overtime wages or reimburse job-related expenses such as cleaning supplies. It also claims the company denied workers sick leave and did not pay unemployment insurance or payroll taxes.
It further accuses the company of illegally imposing fines on workers and deducting pay from their wages. Additionally, it claims the company did not cover quarterly healthcare expenditures for workers in San Francisco as required by a city ordinance.
In an emailed statement, a Handy spokesperson said the lawsuit “has no merit” and is based on a “fundamental misunderstanding” of California law and the rights of Handy and its workers, which it calls “pros.”
“Handy complies with all laws and regulations in California and elsewhere, and we will vigorously defend ourselves in court,” the spokesperson said.
Read the full story at California DAs Sue Gig Company for Misclassifying Workers – Courthouse News Service
