> Also that WP Engine was not actually providing WordPress because they were limiting a single resource-heavy feature. As if WordPress.com hasn’t been going even further in providing a limited WordPress experience since the beginning.
I was thinking the same thing!
> This means that many of the people who work for Automattic are technically external contractors despite acting on behalf of the company, holding business cards with the company logo or conducting WordCamp talks on behalf of the company. (Which rendered legal action about what I endured as good as impossible, as I did not have any rights as an actual employee and my contract was with Automattic in California, under US law.)
Many countries use duck tests for employment both for taxation and employment law. Does it quack like employment? Are you given instructions? Are you forbidden from subcontracting? Is there a fixed hourly rate? Are you required to work set hours? Etc.
And possibly human rights based law would pierce both anyway. For example you can be discriminated against as a customer in a shop and sue.
I was thinking the same thing!
> This means that many of the people who work for Automattic are technically external contractors despite acting on behalf of the company, holding business cards with the company logo or conducting WordCamp talks on behalf of the company. (Which rendered legal action about what I endured as good as impossible, as I did not have any rights as an actual employee and my contract was with Automattic in California, under US law.)
Many countries use duck tests for employment both for taxation and employment law. Does it quack like employment? Are you given instructions? Are you forbidden from subcontracting? Is there a fixed hourly rate? Are you required to work set hours? Etc.
And possibly human rights based law would pierce both anyway. For example you can be discriminated against as a customer in a shop and sue.