Instawork, known also by its other name Advantage Workforce Services, has recently been held accountable by Denver Labor for over 20,000 violations regarding wage theft and noncompliance with local wage laws. As reported by the Denver Auditor's Office, the company owes upwards of $2.3 million in fines, penalties, and restitution after failing to properly pay over 3,500 workers for wages, including minimum wage, overtime, and paid sick leave.
Denver Auditor Timothy M. O'Brien voiced his frustration, accusing Instawork of continuously choosing not to correctly compensate their employees. "Instawork has had numerous opportunities to do the right thing. Instead, they withheld information we requested and stopped thousands of employees from receiving their rightful pay and sick leave according to the law," O'Brien said, according to the Denver Auditor's Office. Moreover, the auditor's investigation, which started in May, uncovered that the company deliberately misclassified almost 3,000 people as independent contractors, thereby denying them the benefits and protections afforded to employees.
Amidst this ongoing issue, it was discovered that Instawork withheld a substantial amount of crucial payroll data demanded during the initial investigation, leading to more uncovered discrepancies. This included over 14,000 shifts belonging to 1,450 workers. Instawork had previously claimed these workers were employed by Advantage Workforce Services, which is not a separate entity but fully owned and operated by Instawork.
"Gig workers can still be a company’s employees if they do not have the functional independence of being in business for themselves," O'Brien explained, as per Denver Auditor's Office. Notably, those often most affected by these unlawful practices are undocumented workers, migrants, people of color, and women, populations that find themselves highly susceptible to such exploitative actions by employers.
