The Secretive World of Work-At-Home Customer ServiceProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.Ten years ago, the Department of Labor wrapped up a lengthy investigation of Arise Virtual Solutions, a company that recruited customer service agents to work from home fielding calls for big brand names like Disney and AAA. The so-called gig economy was in its infancy, with Uber launching and TaskRabbit starting to go national.The question for the Obama administration’s Labor Department: Did Arise employ those customer...…The Secretive World of Work-At-Home Customer ServiceProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.Ten years ago, the Department of Labor wrapped up a lengthy investigation of Arise Virtual Solutions, a company that recruited customer service agents to work from home fielding calls for big brand names like Disney and AAA. The so-called gig economy was in its infancy, with Uber launching and TaskRabbit starting to go national.The question for the Obama administration’s Labor Department: Did Arise employ those customer...WW…

The Secretive World of Work-At-Home Customer ServiceProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.This story is co-published with .Airbnb, battered by the pandemic recession, announced in May that it would be laying off a quarter of its workforce. In a post for its empathy and transparency, CEO Brian Chesky , “We will have to part with teammates that we love and value.” He outlined a generous severance package. Departing employees would receive 14 weeks of pay plus an extra week for each year at the company; help from...…The Secretive World of Work-At-Home Customer ServiceProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.This story is co-published with .Airbnb, battered by the pandemic recession, announced in May that it would be laying off a quarter of its workforce. In a post for its empathy and transparency, CEO Brian Chesky , “We will have to part with teammates that we love and value.” He outlined a generous severance package. Departing employees would receive 14 weeks of pay plus an extra week for each year at the company; help from...WW…