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RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF ALDERS TO SUPPORT OF TAX FAIRNESS AND WORKER RIGHTS IN "GIG" WORK
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WHEREAS: every worker in New Haven deserves all their rights at work; and
WHEREAS: there is a history in the United States of denying certain workers their rights on account of their race, gender, or immigration status; and
WHEREAS: residents of New Haven have participated in struggles for workers' rights such as, domestic worker rights, farmworker rights, hotel worker rights, healthcare worker rights, educator rights, and university employee rights in the past and continue to do so;
WHEREAS: every business in New Haven deserves to operate on a level playing field with equal rights and obligations; and
WHEREAS: when certain businesses are allowed to avoid their obligations to pay taxes or comply with workplace protections for its employees, it has a negative effect on the capacity of its competitors to thrive, and on our city's standard of living, public health, and general social welfare;
WHEREAS: thousands of New Haveners work either full- or part-time, in the platform or app-based "gig" economy such as Uber, Lyft and others;
WHEREAS: in New Haven and across the US, according to national statistics, Black and Latino residents are disproportionately working in the app-based economy;
WHEREAS: in Connecticut app-based workers of all colors are currently denied basic workplace protections by their employers such as a minimum wage, overtime, workers compensation, unemployment compensation, and safety and health protections by their employers;
WHEREAS: in Connecticut, app-based companies who misclassify these workers as independent contractors, unlike the rest of our employers, do not pay payroll taxes and therefore pay absolutely nothing to the state towards our unemployment fund;
WHEREAS: in other states such as Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey the state government has investigated and recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in owed, unpaid, re...
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