DoorDash just dug a big hole under Prop 22

For those who believe there are problems with California's current worker classification scheme, look no further than at what DoorDash is doing in New York City. Through its new DashCorp subsidiary, the delivery service is now using workers to deliver meals in Manhattan, and these workers are -- gasp! -- employees! They perform the same work as DoorDash's independent contractors, but through some sleight of magic they are special.

To be clear, there are differences between the two groups. The "employees" drive electric bicycles supplied by DoorDash; the contractors drive their own vehicles for DoorDash's benefit. The employees deliver food during high-demand times of the day; the contractors deliver food around the clock but ostensibly would prefer to work when demand is high. The employees must meet tight delivery windows using DoorDash's bikes; the contractors must contend with city traffic behind the wheels of their own cars.

It's form over substance. DoorDash wants to limit its costs by creating a limited-scope workforce with set hours and responsibilities. The independent contractors who constitute the majority of its workforce do the exact same work, and they do so much more. They pick up the slack during slow times, but they don't get paid for hours spent waiting for work. They provide their own means of transportation and foot the bill for gas, maintenance and insurance. They could, if they chose, acquire their own electric bicycles to deliver meals just as quickly as the new DoorDash employees but they have no access to the DoorMart convenience store that supplies the meals.

DoorDash must believe that it wields better control over these new employees, most of whom will work 25 hours per week and be required to deliver orders in a 10- to 15-minute window. This is disingenuous. The company already has significant control over its contractors -- the majority of whom, according to DoorDash, work less than 10 hours per week. These contractors devote unpaid time to doing DoorDash's work, but their very livelihoods depend on being busy. The contractors know that the busiest times are the most rewarding, but their company now says that busy times demand a better product.

If bicycle-powered "instant" delivery service is needed in Manhattan, it could certainly be valuable in other congested urban areas, including downtown Los Angeles and San Francisco. It could be just a matter of time before DashCorps sets up employee workforces in those cities, as well. Uber, Lyft and other gig companies could soon follow suit.

Then the true hypocrisy of Proposition 22 will be on full display. Even though the law is ostensibly focused on app-based services, DoorDash is showing us that its essential business is not providing a technology platform; it is, plain and simple, delivering food. An employed bike courier delivers the same food as a contractor sitting behind the wheel of his car. There is no justification for creating a new class of employees to deliver meals.

It's truly a case of the gig companies having their cake and eating it too. Now that they've established -- through written law in California -- that their workers are not employees, they don't get to go back and decide how to classify them. The bottom line is that workers who perform the same work must be classified the same way. 