A 2019 study by the University of California’s Labor Center at Berkeley warned that while some technologies can alleviate arduous warehouse tasks, they could also contribute to increasing the “workload and pace of work.”

Today’s jobs report shows a complicated picture for workers. The economy added only 235,000 jobs in August, despite near-record vacancies, while hourly wages grew faster than expected. But hold off a moment before calling it a labor shortage.

“The judge’s ruling states that changing that would require a constitutional amendment,” said Ken Jacobs, chairman of the University of California, Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education. “Proposition 22 was not a constitutional amendment.”

Scholars say, however, that the companies’ alleged past-due bill could be material and should be of interest to investors. “We’re talking about an incredible amount of money,” said Ken Jacobs, chairman of the UC Berkeley Labor Center. What’s more, he says, “The state is very likely to prevail, given what we’ve seen in preliminary rulings.”