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☆ Walmart offered to pay Spark drivers as little as 52 cents per order after a 'temporary' app issue
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Walmart offered some Spark drivers as little as 52 cents to deliver orders to customers' homes. AdvertisementWalmart offered to pay some Spark delivery drivers as little as 52 cents to deliver groceries and other merchandise from its stores to customers' doorsteps after "a temporary issue" in its app. A screenshot from the Spark app shows an offer that pays 52 cents. But some Spark drivers have reported being shut out by the feature despite using accounts in their own names. Do you work for Walmart Spark, Instacart, DoorDash, or another gig delivery service and have a story idea to share?

Persons: — Organizations: Walmart, Service, Business, Pay, Georgia Spark Locations: Texas, New Mexico, Georgia

☆ DoorDash raises fees for NYC deliveries after warning that a new minimum wage law would hit customers
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Jordan Hart | Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

DoorDash followed through with its claim that delivery orders in New York City would be hit with increased fees. All customers placing orders in New York City will start seeing that fee on Friday in response to new minimum wage rules in the city, a DoorDash spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider. DoorDash warned customers that fees would increase due to these rules. Referring to the Regulatory Response Fee in Seattle, DoorDash said in a statement on January 13 that it helped "cover the costs of these new regulations. AdvertisementUber Eats has added similar fees to orders in New York and Seattle with the advent of those cities' laws.

Persons: DoorDash, Uber, we're, abitter@businessinsider.com Organizations: Business, Seattle, Target, Workers, Walmart Locations: New York, New York City, Seattle, Instacart

☆ Instacart wants to turn grocery shopping into 'Pokémon GO' to get you to buy more using smart carts
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-27 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Instacart is trying to gamify grocery shopping with its Caper smart carts, an executive said. AdvertisementInstacart is trying to get you to buy more at the grocery store when you use one of its screen-equipped shopping carts — by turning shopping into a game. The company's Caper carts can show shoppers ads or discounts for products based on their buying habits, Instacart has said. McIntosh told Grocery Dive that customers spend around 30 minutes in front of the cart's screen during a visit. "We really believe that it's going to be the future of grocery shopping," CEO Fidji Simo told Bloomberg at the time.

Persons: Instacart, —, David McIntosh, McIntosh, financials Instacart, Fidji Simo Organizations: Service, Connected, Bloomberg

☆ Labor Department's new independent contractor rule could help workers recover lost wages—here's how
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Independent workers make up about 45% of the U.S. workforce, according to a 2023 report by MBO Partners, a platform dedicated to their needs. That's more than 72 million Americans altogether, with nearly 30 million of them working independently full-time. This misclassification could lead to a loss in income, ineligibility for state and federal unemployment systems and so on. Nearly 10% of independent contractors make less than $7.25 per hour, according to the National Employment Law Project. A new rule change under the Fair Labor Standards Act, set to take effect on March 11, is aimed at curbing this misclassification.

Persons: Sally Dworak, Fisher, Samantha Sanders Organizations: MBO Partners, National Employment Law, Economic, Institute, Fair Labor Locations: NELP

☆ TurboTax Can No Longer Advertise Products as Free, F.T.C. Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Rebecca Carballo | More About Rebecca Carballo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Federal regulators have ruled that Intuit, the maker of the tax-filing software TurboTax, must stop marketing its services as free, unless they are free to everyone or exceptions are clearly disclosed. TurboTax had for years claimed customers could file their taxes online for free. The Federal Trade Commission said in an opinion and final order issued on Monday that its advertising was deceptive because two-thirds of taxpayers were not eligible to file with the free product. The commission also found that the company’s attempts to disclose that not everybody qualified for free services were “ineffective and often inconspicuous.”Examples of ineligible taxpayers include those claiming mortgage and property deductions, charitable donations over $300, unemployment income, investment income, rental property income and certain education expenses. Gig workers who reported income as independent contractors, including many delivery drivers, were also ineligible.

Persons: TurboTax Organizations: Intuit, Federal Trade Commission

☆ Why is your grocery delivery taking so long? Your driver has 2 other deliveries.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Delivery apps like Instacart and Walmart Spark often 'batch' orders together. Drivers have a choice, companies sayBatches have been part of Instacart's strategy for "several years," a company spokesperson told BI. Advertisement"Some customers get angry wondering why it's taking so long," the Alabama driver said. Customers give drivers low ratings and pull away tips as a result, the driver told Insider. AdvertisementDo you work for Instacart, Spark, or another delivery service and have a story idea to share?

Persons: —, they'll, Instacart, Uber, commenter Organizations: Walmart, Service, Drivers, Alabama, FedEx, UPS, SEC Locations: Alabama, North Carolina, New York City, Queens, Brooklyn

☆ Nearly 40% of workers like their jobs enough to turn down a promotion, a new report says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Amsterdam-based Randstad's annual Workmonitor report, released Wednesday for 2024, found that 39% of workers don't want to be promoted because they like their current jobs. Related stories"This means people's motivation at work is not necessarily just driven by promotions," Randstad CEO Sander van 't Noordende told Business Insider. "They must also realize that career progression and maintaining a healthy personal life are intertwined and need to be balanced."

Persons: —, Sander van, Gen, van, Noordende Organizations: Service, Business, Employers Locations: Amsterdam, Europe, Asia Pacific, Americas

☆ Walmart wants to use AI to restock your fridge automatically
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-10 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Walmart is starting to use AI to figure out how often you order groceries and order them for delivery. The service will soon be part of Walmart's InHome delivery, according to its presentation at CES. Walmart customers can set up deliveries of essentials at regular intervals, a service the big box chain started offering last year. The company started offering InHome delivery in 2019. Spark's gig delivery workers aren't allowed to enter customers' homes, a point of confusion for Walmart customers who think Spark contractors make InHome deliveries.

Persons: —, Whitney Pegden, Walmart InHome, Pegden Organizations: Walmart, Service, Consumer Locations: Las Vegas

☆ Most delivery gig work workers won't be impacted by the new fed rule — yet
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-09 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

But gig delivery companies like DoorDash and Instacart say they don't plan to make any changes. AdvertisementIf you make deliveries as a gig worker, don't expect any changes from a new federal rule — at least, not immediately. But companies that rely on gig workers to make deliveries say they won't need to make any changes. Amazon, which employs gig workers through its Flex delivery arm, did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. Do you work for Instacart, DoorDash, Walmart Spark, Uber Eats, or another gig delivery service and have a story idea to share?

Persons: —, Julie Su, Uber, Loyola University Chicago Professor Peter Norlander, I'm, Norlander Organizations: Service, Department of Labor, Labor, Department, Flex, Loyola University Chicago Professor, Wall Street, Walmart Locations: DoorDash

☆ The golden age of working for Instacart, DoorDash, and other delivery apps is over, workers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-31 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

"2020 and 2021 were excellent, but things started to go downhill in 2022 and now 2023," Juan told Business Insider. AdvertisementSpokespeople for Amazon, DoorDash, and Grubhub confirmed to Business Insider that they put prospective delivery workers on waitlists in certain markets based on demand for deliveries. AdvertisementHere are some of the problems that delivery gig workers faced in 2023, varying from lower pay to greater competition to sudden deactivations. The companies that employ delivery workers oppose the laws. Do you work for Instacart, Walmart Spark, or another gig delivery service and have a story idea to share?

Persons: —, Juan, he's, He's, hasn't, they're, Grubhub, Greg F, Greg, Instacart, Alexia Hudson, Daniel Danker, Hudson, Uber, GeekWire, Shipt Organizations: Service, Amazon, Business, Instacart, Walmart, Hudson, Bank of America Institute, New, New York Post Locations: Instacart, Southern California, Utah, California, Texas, Charlotte , North Carolina, Seattle, New York City, Juan

☆ I got stabbed while shopping for Instacart. I was shocked by how difficult it was to get support as an injured gig worker.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AdvertisementThis as-told-to story is based on a conversation with Owen Dwyer, an Instacart shopper in Maryland. Business Insider has verified his identity and employment; corroborated details of the stabbing through police records; and viewed messages from Instacart support and insurance claims Dwyer filed after he was stabbed. Instacart's insurance provider responded to Dwyer's second claim after Business Insider reached out to Instacart for comment on this story. Dwyer told Business Insider he had not received an estimated payment total as of press time. "The safety of the entire Instacart community is incredibly important to us, and we take immediate action when we receive reports of violence against any member of the Instacart community," an Instacart spokesperson told Business Insider.

Persons: Instacart, —, Owen Dwyer, Dwyer, I'd, doesn't, I'm, It's, I've, who've Organizations: Walmart, Service, Instacart, Chrysler, Costco, CVS, Business Locations: Maryland, Baltimore, pec, Instacart

☆ PGA Tour commissioner says he's talking to possible investors ahead of Saudi deal deadline
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Drew Richardson | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan speaks during a press conference prior to the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club on August 24, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said Wednesday that the organization is talking to several potential investors as a deadline to clinch a deal with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund rapidly approaches. LIV and the PGA Tour were engaged in an antitrust legal battle dating back to last year. The deal had the PGA Tour retaining control in the face of an existential threat, he added. The PIF and "likely another co-investor with significant experience in business and sports will help the PGA Tour take share from other sports and be even more competitive."

Persons: Jay Monahan, " Monahan, Yasir bin Othman Al, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Monahan, LIV Golf, LIV, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Saud Arabia's Organizations: East Lake Golf Club, PGA, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, The New York Times, Saudi Crown, PGA Tour, Public Investment Fund, Boston Red Sox, Fenway Sports Group, Endeavor Group Holdings, Endeavor Locations: Atlanta , Georgia, Saudi

☆ Opinion | Welcome to the New Economics of Tipping
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

(If a no-tip order sits too long, DoorDash will raise the base pay until a driver — known as a Dasher — finally picks it up.) I’m glad to see workers earning more in jobs that tend to be low-paid, grueling and in some cases dangerous. “Our three-sided marketplace only works if it’s working for Dashers, consumers and merchants alike,” the company said, correctly. I’m not as happy that some portion of the bigger tips will most likely indirectly increase corporate profits. (The driver rates the passenger before seeing the tip, although I’m guessing a lot of customers don’t realize that.)

Persons: —, I’m, Uber, Robert Frank Organizations: Cornell

☆ It's open enrollment season for health coverage. If you're self-employed, you can't afford to ignore it
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Cheryl Winokur Munk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Picking health insurance on your own — without the help of a human resources department — can be daunting. Instead of throwing up your hands in frustration, here are answers to questions self-employed individuals often have about open enrollment. Doing nothing will mean they are automatically reenrolled in last year's marketplace plan. How much health insurance costs the self-employed Cost will vary, depending on the plan you choose, who is covered and what subsidies you're eligible for. If you want more specific help, you can also choose to work with an agent or broker who is trained and certified to sell marketplace health plans in the state they are licensed.

Persons: Anthony Lopez, Alexa Irish, Laura Speyer, enrollees, Lopez, You'll Organizations: Getty, Centers, Medicare, Medicaid Services, U.S . Department of Health, Human Services, deductibles, state's Department of Insurance Locations: trepidation, eHealth

☆ 'Overemployed' Workers Secretly Juggle Several Jobs for Big Salaries
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Aki Ito | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

Holding down multiple jobs has long been a backbreaking way for low-wage workers to get by. They freeze their employment histories with Equifax and hibernate their LinkedIn profiles, so employers can't see they're holding multiple jobs. Those with multiple jobs also seek out positions they hope will be OE-friendly — light on meetings, as well as on the workload. There's another incentive: Unlike most Americans, those who work multiple jobs don't have to worry about layoffs. There's something radical that happens to a worker's psychology when they have multiple jobs.

Persons: Bryan Roque, He'd, Roque, I'm, Isaac, Reddit, commiserate, he'd, it's, they're, —, Tyler Le, George, who's, I've, Allison, Cole, he's, Matthew Berman, hasn't, Meta, Tinder, jugglers, Taylor, they'll, normies, Redditor, she'd, she's, Aki Ito Organizations: Amazon, IBM, Meta, Financial Independence, J1, McKinsey & Company, J2 Locations: Meta, Tinder, New York, California, Meta's, tatters

☆ News outlets deny prior knowledge of Hamas attack after Israeli government demands answers over misleading report
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“The first pictures AP received from any freelancer show they were taken more than an hour after the attacks began. In a statement, CNN said Eslaiah was not working for the network on the day of the attack. “We had no prior knowledge of the October 7th attacks,” a CNN spokesperson said. A member of Israel’s war cabinet, Benny Gantz, also used the report to question whether journalists had prior knowledge of the attack. The Committee to Protect Journalists denounced the Israeli government’s rhetoric, warning it could put media workers in harm’s way.

Persons: Hassan Eslaiah, ” Lauren Easton, “, ”, ” Easton, Eslaiah, “ Hassan Eslaiah, Israel, Yousef Massoud, Yousef, photojournalists, HonestReporting, Benjamin Netanyahu, Benny Gantz, Kaiser Organizations: CNN, Associated Press, Reuters, The New York Times, Israel, AP, ” Reuters, Hamas, “ Reuters, The Times, Government Press, Journalists, Protect Journalists Locations: Gaza, ”, Israel

☆ DoorDash will start tracking delivery workers' sudden stops and accelerations
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new feature on the DoorDash app tracks how often its workers break or accelerate suddenly. The information will be available to dashers through "Driving Insights," the company said Friday. DoorDash said the feature uses the same location data from workers' phones that it already uses for features like navigation. DoorDash has been testing Driving Insights since July in Phoenix and Salt Lake City. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe features are meant to improve safety for DoorDash workers, Austin Haugen, Vice President of Dasher Product, said in the company's statement announcing the feature changes.

Persons: It's, —, DoorDash, Dashers, Austin Haugen, Haugen, haven't Organizations: Service, Amazon, Apple Locations: Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Atlanta , Houston, Dallas, Detroit, Cleveland, Miami, Charlotte, Palm Beach

☆ DoorDash will start surveilling delivery workers' driving with an app that tracks how hard they are braking and accelerating
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new feature on the DoorDash app tracks how often its workers break or accelerate suddenly. The information will be available to dashers through "Driving Insights," the company said Friday. DoorDash said the feature uses the same location data from workers' phones that it already uses for features like navigation. DoorDash has been testing Driving Insights since July in Phoenix and Salt Lake City. The app assigns each driver a score and penalizes them for hard stops, quick acceleration, speeding, and other driving issues.

☆ DoorDash warns customers who don't tip: your order could be slower
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Grace Dean | Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

DoorDash is reminding customers their orders may be quicker if they leave a tip for their driver. It's the latest attempt by DoorDash to encourage customers to tip more. In June, DoorDash starting sending tip "nudges" to customers, reminding them that they can increase tips for 30 days after a delivery. "In some cases, customers place orders through merchants directly and are not given the option to provide a tip on an order," DoorDash notes on its website. "This does not mean the customer chose not to leave a tip – it means they were not given the opportunity to leave a tip when they placed their order."

Persons: DoorDash, —, Jenn Rosenberg, " Rosenberg Organizations: Service, Wall Street

☆ DoorDash is testing warnings about bad service if you don’t tip your driver
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Thinking of skimping on a DoorDash tip? The message is just a test, DoorDash spokesperson Jenn Rosenberg told CNN in an email. DoorDash, along with other third-party delivery providers, has opposed efforts to create a minimum wage for delivery drivers. Federally, the tipped minimum wage is just $2.13 per hour (some states have higher minimums). Employers are required to make up the difference if tips don’t bring workers up to the federal minimum wage.

Persons: Jenn Rosenberg, we’re, ”, ” Rosenberg Organizations: New, New York CNN, DoorDash, CNN, Employers Locations: New York

☆ Walmart Spark delivery drivers are sick of customers asking them to bring deliveries into their homes
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Walmart Spark drivers often get requests from customers to drop groceries off in their kitchens. Walmart's InHome delivery service, which is staffed by full-time employees, offers kitchen drop-offs. AdvertisementAdvertisementEarlier this year, a Spark delivery driver in Nevada pulled up to a house with a few bags of groceries for delivery. Customers are likely confusing the delivery for another service Walmart offers, InHome Delivery. Spark drivers, by contrast, are gig workers paid per order or batch of orders, and they aren't allowed to go into shoppers' homes.

Persons: —, she's, InHome, Doug McMillon Organizations: Walmart, Service, Workers Locations: Nevada, Miami, Dallas, San Francisco, Texas

Schedule C is a tax form for self-employed people to report business income. You do so on a tax form called Schedule C.See Insider's picks for the best tax software >>Here's what to know about Schedule C and its filing requirements. What is the Schedule C tax form? Schedule C is a form that self-employed people have to file alongside their tax return, or Form 1040. Schedule C frequently asked questionsDo I have to file a Schedule C?

Persons: It's, —, Kristine Stevenson Seale, Seale, Mark Luscombe Organizations: Service, CPA, Wolters Kluwer, Accounting, NEC, IRS, Insurance Locations: Austin , Texas

☆ A tennis center owner in Santa Monica changed his entire business to capitalize on the pickleball surge in America. It was a 'huge risk' but his revenue numbers have doubled and his court has never be
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-14 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Former collegiate coach Jon Neeter bought a tennis center in Santa Monica, CA for $40,000 in 2010. He converted his single tennis court into four pickleball courts and business is booming. Plus, he liked the idea of his work being concentrated in one place, rather than scattered at various tennis courts all over LA. A standard pickleball court is 20 feet wide by 44 feet long, much smaller than a tennis court. Plus, he was unsure about how he was going to replicate the Santa Monica Tennis Center anywhere else in LA.

Persons: Jon Neeter, —, Neeter, Jon Arend, Arend, who's, he'd, Sam Querrey, didn't, I'd, they'd, He's, there's, he's Organizations: Service, beachy Santa, Santa, Duke University, Palisades Tennis Center, LA, Santa Monica Tennis Center, Santa Monica Pickleball Center, Neeter Locations: Santa Monica , CA, Wilshire, Los Angeles, LA, Santa Monica, New Jersey, California, West LA, Southern California, pickleball

OTTAWA, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Canada's Supreme Court on Friday ruled a federal law assessing how major infrastructure projects like coal mines and oil sands plants impact the environment is largely unconstitutional, in a blow to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government. "This is a significant setback for the federal government," said David Wright, a law professor at the University of Calgary. "The court has said the federal government can enact environmental assessment legislation but the way they went about it, for most of this law, goes too far." The IAA was drafted by Trudeau's Liberal government in 2019 in a bid to streamline and restore trust in the environmental approval process for major projects. Last year the federal government warned Suncor the environmental impact from expanding Base Mine would be "unacceptable" under the IAA because expected carbon emissions were too high.

Persons: Justin Trudeau's, Bill C, Richard Wagner, David Wright, Wright, Danielle Smith, Trudeau, Mike Martens, Major, Ismail Shakil, Nia Williams, David Ljunggren, Deborah Kyvrikosaios, Richard Chang Organizations: OTTAWA, Alberta, University of Calgary, IAA, Trudeau's Liberal, Liberals, Industry, Independent Contractors, Association Alberta, Thomson Locations: Canada, Ottawa, Alberta

☆ US Anti-Doping Agency and UFC set to end partnership after Conor McGregor dispute
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) is set to split with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) following a dispute involving Conor McGregor. Last week, McGregor said on X, formerly Twitter, that he has been re-entered to the testing pool, while UFC president Dana White said that the relevant paperwork had been submitted to USADA. The UFC has been partnered with USADA since 2015, and in that time the anti-doping body has conducted more than 27,000 tests. As he targets a return to the octagon next year, McGregor has been linked with a fight against American Michael Chandler. “The fight is not booked for a date, the fight is not booked for a venue, but the fight is booked between Chandler and Conor.

Persons: Conor McGregor, McGregor, –, Dustin Poirior, USADA, ”, Travis Tygart, Dana White, Tygart, ” McGregor, Donald Cerrone, Poirier, Michael Chandler, “, ” Chandler, ‘, Chandler, Conor, There’s Organizations: CNN, Doping Agency, UFC, ” CNN, USADA Locations: USADA

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