Todd Wulffson, Orange County Office Managing Partner, was interviewed by Grocery Dive and provided commentary on the article "Does the gig economy have a future in grocery stores?" on November 7, 2019.
Excerpt: "Gig-ifying the workforce: There are other hurdles the gig economy must reckon with. Legislation like California’s Assembly Bill 5, which was signed into law in September and requires covered contract workers to be classified as employees, could be financially devastating for gig companies, said Wulffson. Instacart along with Uber, Lyft and other gig companies have floated a ballot measure for 2020 that would exempt them from the law and guarantee above minimum wage for on-demand workers along with access to health insurance and other benefits. Wulffson said automation threatens to displace both on-demand and conventional grocery employees. On the e-commerce side of the business, automated warehouses both small and large promise to take fulfillment away from store aisles and the many Instacart and Shipt workers that roam them, making delivery the primary focus for on-demand labor. And even there, autonomous-vehicle delivery and drone delivery promise to eventually factor out drivers. Some retailers aren't waiting for automation to dictate how they handle e-commerce fulfillment in their stores. Lowes Foods, Walmart and SpartanNash's banners are just a few that insist on using their own workers to pick and pack orders. While Walmart insists on doing so primarily for quality-control purposes, others do so to provide personalized service to their customers."
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Todd Wulffson
Todd R. Wulffson has focused his practice on counseling and defending businesses in labor and employment matters for over 30 years. In addition to private practice, from 2006-2010, Wulffson served as General Counsel and SVP of…
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