Doordash Claims to be a Technology Company

In their attempt to defend themselves from the courts in California, Doordash has made the claim that they are a technology company. If you take a look at the official Doordash website, it even says right there that they are a technology company. If this were true, this of course would help them in their plead to keep their drivers as independent contractors in California.

Sorry, nope, this isn't going to fly. When people think of Doordash they think of a food delivery company. Yes, when people are hungry Doordash is the go to app. Sure, Doordash has ventured into other areas such as delivering from supermarkets, Walmart and even pharmaceutical companies, but everybody will always think of Doordash as a food delivery company because that's exactly what it is.

 

Doordash shouldn't feel too bad about their ridiculous claim though because they were not the only ones making it. Uber also made the same claim to the state of California. If I've lost you and you don't know why Doordash and Uber have claimed to be technology companies to the state of California, read on and you will understand.

In 2019 the state of California passed Assembly Bill 5. This bill was to take effect at the beginning of the new year. Yep, all gig worker drivers were to be employees starting on the very first day of 2020. Well, New Year's day came and gone, NBA superstar Kobe Bryant tragically passed away, we've had a virus hit mankind that seems unreal like we are in a Hollywood movie, racial tension and protests have hit the streets like never before, and the gig companies have not budged. Doordash, Uber, Lyft, Postmates and all other gig work companies don't seem to have given a damn what the new law said. In 2020, they all went about their business as usual like nothing ever happened.

A Proposition 22 victory will override Assembly Bill 5

Now, here we are nearing the 4th quarter of the year, and we have Proposition 22 to vote on. If Prop 22 passes it will overwrite Assembly Bill 5. Doordash, as well as all the other gig companies will be able to carry on and conduct business as they always have. Drivers will remain independent contractors and be able to be flexible and work when they want to earn extra money on their own time. That's right! Continuing to work when, where and how they want.

I am a somebody that will be voting yes on prop 22. I like my side gig hustle here with Doordash. It's great to work when and where I want. It's nice not having to be an employee that has to clock in and out at a scheduled time. If I wanted to be an employee at a regular job I would get a regular job. The reason that 80 percent of us do Doordash is because of the flexible work of when and how we want scenario. The 80 percent of us have other jobs or other businesses where we are obligated to work at certain times. Doordash is great as a work when, where and how you want side hustle and should remain that way. So make sure you vote yes on Prop 22!

California's ABC test to determine who is an employee and who is an independent contractor

With the gig companies being sued multiple times by the state politicians in California, the gig companies have had to constantly try to convince the courts as to why their drivers should be classified as independent contractors and not employees. More often that not, the courts have seemed to side with the state politicians and view many of Uber, Doordash and Lyft's arguments as gibberish nonsense.

The state of California has even made something that is called the ABC Test to help differentiate between independent contractor and employee. 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. 
  

As far as control is concerned , many would say that gig drivers are not under any control of the gig companies. Drivers are able to accept or decline any call they want and can work or go home any time they want. An argument can be made though that gig drivers are under control of the gig companies as they do not set their own rates and fees like an independent contractor normally would. We are not going to get too much into this though as we are going to want to concentrate on the second condition.

Remember, in order for these gig companies to classify their drivers as independent contractors they must satisfy all three conditions. The second condition is the one that seems to hit Doordash and the other gig companies the hardest and we will talk about that next.

Doordash claims to be a technology company

The second condition in the ABC test states that the worker must perform work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entities business. This condition seems to have hit Doordash, Uber and the rest pretty hard. Doordash is obviously a food delivery company and Uber is certainly a Taxi type business. Yes, the usual work of Doordash, Postmates and other similar companies is delivering food. The usual work for Uber, Lyft and other similar type companies is moving people around like a Taxi company. These are the work performances that bring these companies their revenue. How in the hell can these gig companies have their drivers legally classified as independent contractors when they cannot pass this ABC test? These gig companies workers do not perform work that is outside the usual course of business. The usual course of business for Doordash is delivering food. For Uber, it's providing a Taxi service.

The geniuses at Doordash had a brilliant idea. They conjured up the idea that they would tell the courts that they were not a delivery company. No, no, no! They claimed that they are a technology company that provides a platform for drivers to connect with restaurants and customers. Good try! As already mentioned, they were not the only ones to make such a claim. Uber tried the same thing. They also said that they were a technology company that provided the platform to connect drivers and customers.

I am with Doordash, Uber and the rest on Prop 22, but claiming that they are not a delivery company or Taxi provider is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard. I mean do they really think that people are that stupid? They actually thought they could get around everything by claiming to be a technology company? They thought that if the courts classified them as tech companies then the work that their drivers perform would be outside the usual course of business and therefor they could more easily pass the ABC test and classify drivers as independent contractors.

Face it Doordash, your company is a delivery company. You are not a technology company. Just because an app was created and is maintained does not make Doordash a tech company. If Doordash made their revenue by creating apps all day then maybe they could be classified as a tech company. That's not the case though. Doordash makes their revenue by the delivery services that they provide to their customers. Many companies have apps. Can all of them claim to be a tech company because they use an app as a tool to conduct their business. Good try but nobody bought it! By the way, nobody forget, let's all vote Yes on Prop 22 and save app based jobs!