Technologies

Uber and Lyft’s Proposition 22 is unconstitutional, judge rules

The measure classifies gig workers as contractors rather than employees.

A California judge ruled on Friday that Proposition 22, a measure passed by voters last year allowing Uber, Lyft and other gig companies to classify workers as independent contractors rather than employees, violated the state’s constitution.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch ruled the law improperly crimps the state’s ability to set workplace standards. Declaring the law unconstitutional, Roesch wrote that Proposition 22 «limits the power of a future legislature to define app-based drivers as workers subject to workers’ compensation law.»

The decision throws into question the fate of Proposition 22, a law that was passed last November after Uber, Lyft and other gig economy companies poured more $200 million into a campaign urging voters to support the measure. The state law will likely remain in effect while expected appeals make their way through the court system.

Gig companies initiated Proposition 22 because treating drivers, delivery people and other gig workers as employees would add enormous costs to their business operations. The proposition created an alternative, leaving gig workers as independent contractors but giving them some benefits, such as expense reimbursement and a health care subsidy.

«This ruling ignores the will of … California voters and defies both logic and the law,» an Uber spokesperson said in a statement. The company will appeal the ruling, the spokesperson said.

DoorDash, which also supported the Prop 22 campaign, said its workers had earned more and gotten new benefits since the law passed. Lyft and Instacart, another supporter, referred inquiries to the Protect App-Based Drivers & Services Coalition, a group representing gig companies. The group said it would file an immediate appeal. Postmates, another proponent, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The California measure has implications nationwide: Uber and other gig-economy firms are currently pushing a similar ballot effort in Massachusetts. The companies argue drivers prefer the flexibility of being their own bosses. Opponents, however, say drivers need the kind of pay and protections that come with full employee status, and that such a classification doesn’t rule out flexibility.

In the lawsuit that led to Roesch’s ruling, a group of ride-hail drivers, along with the Service Employees International Union, argued Proposition 22 hamstrings California’s ability to protect gig workers through safeguards such as workers’ compensation and the right to organize.

Technologies

Garmin Announces the Forerunner 570 and 970 Running Smartwatches

The sleek new smartwatches, aimed at athletes, will ship with the company’s brightest screens yet.

Serious runners looking to upgrade their smartwatch now have two new Garmin Forerunner options in the form of the 570 and 970. For those unfamiliar, Forerunner is Garmin’s line of running and triathlon training watches. The new versions pack the brightest display from Garmin to date and add new training tools, recovery insights and connected features.

Garmin is competing in a field that includes the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Ultra, which is Apple’s adventure-focused version of its regular smartwatch. Garmin is perhaps best known for its in-car GPS systems, but has branched out into smartwatches aimed at athletes over the past few years.

Want to learn more? Check out our roundup of the best Garmin deals around. If you’re a die-hard Apple fan, we also have a recent roundup of Apple watch rumors for you to peruse.

New Forerunners feature a variety of colors

570 is the cheaper of the two

The 570 is available in both 42mm and 47mm cases, and each size has two exclusive color options in addition to the slate gray, aluminum and black band colors. The 970 only ships in a 47mm case, meaning you can only go big or go back to the 570.

The 970 is available in three colors that look good, but are slightly less fun than its smaller sibling’s options. This model is for the serious athlete or those who just want the best Garmin has to offer.

A brighter 1.4-inch AMOLED display, with an optional always-on mode is new for both watches. Opting for this setting will likely reduce battery life, but given that the 570 has an 11-day battery life, and the 970 can squeak out 15 days you probably won’t be reaching for a charger nearly as much as you would with other smartwatches.

Both watches feature the Garmin Triathlon Coach trainer, which offers adaptive daily personalized workouts plans based on your performance and health metrics. Users can also create multisport workouts from the Garmin Connect app and send them to the watch to track stats even when you switch to another sport during training.

970 extras include flashlight and titanium bezel

The Forerunner 970 includes a set of expected exclusive features, including a scratch-resistant sapphire lens and titanium bezel.

The 970 also ships with a built-in LED flashlight and offers on-screen controls to dial down the brightness. Additional features include running tolerance, step-speed loss and support for ECG measurements in the app, though this feature’s availability will vary by region.

Pricing and availability

Both the Forerunner 570 and 970 will be available to order starting May 21. The Forerunner 570 42mm and the Forerunner 570 47mm are priced at $550, while the Forerunner 970 costs $750.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for May 16, #439

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 439 for May 16.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Todays NYT Strands puzzle has a tie-in to a big event that’s happening around the country at this time of year, Maybe you’re already getting the photo announcements in the mail. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: To a degree.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Pomp and Circumstance.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

DICE, PLOT, ROLE, ROOT, SPIT, SPITE, SPOT, GOES, SANE, CLOT, HOOD, RIOT, SATE, PITA, POOR, HOOP, TOPS, ROTE

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you’ve got all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

GOWN, PHOTO, DIPLOMA, TASSEL, SPEECH, PROCESSION

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is GRADUATION. To find it, start with the G that’s the bottom letter in the far left column, and wind up.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for May 16, #235

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 235, for May 16.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Connections: Sports Edition is a bit tricky today. Hope you know your French athletes! Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Not last.

Green group hint: College conference.

Blue group hint: Oui oui!

Purple group hint: Top hoopsters.