Two former Handy contractors filed suit against the on-demand “handyman” and house cleaning startup.
On Thursday, October 30, 2014, two former Handy house cleaning contractors filed a class action lawsuit against the on-demand “handyman” and house cleaning startup. Among other things, the filing claims that Handy
- misclassified employees as independent contractors
- failed to pay minimum wage
- failed to pay overtime
- failed to pay for breaks
- withheld gratuities from clients
While an independent contractor model is common among startups like Handy (see also Uber, Homejoy, Taskrabbit, and others), the model is often used to help keep the companies labor costs down at the expense of basic labor protections such as workers compensation and unemployment insurance and benefits.
Full lawsuit available, courtesy of Valleywag.
