MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2019 The Boston Globe Business D3
TALKING POINTS
EDUCATION Agenda
DEVOS TOUGHENS
RULES
FOR STUDENT
BORROWERS
BILKED
BY COLLEGES
US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos (pictured) has tightened Obama-era rules for stu-
dent borrowers who say their schools defrauded them, imposing a deadline on claims
and eliminating a requirement that the department automatically wipe away the loans
of some students whose schools closed while they were enrolled. The new rules apply
to federal student loans made from July 2020 onward. They replace policies complet-
ed in 2016 that DeVos had delayed carrying out until a court ordered her last year to
do so. Now, borrowers seeking loan forgive-
ness will have much higher hurdles. They will
need to prove their college made a deceptive
statement “with knowledge of its false, mis-
leading, or deceptive nature or with reckless
disregard for the truth,” and that they relied
on the claim in deciding to enroll in or stay at
the school. They will also need to show the de-
ception harmed them financially. DeVos set a
three-year deadline from the date that stu-
dents graduate or leave their school. The new
rulesalsoeliminatethe“automaticclosed
school discharge,” a program that wipes away
the loans of students whose school closed be-
fore they could complete their degree. Students who do not transfer their credits else-
where can apply to have their loans erased, but many do not know about the option
and never apply. The 2016 rules contributed to the discharge of $222 million in loans
owed by nearly 20,000 borrowers, according to the National Student Legal Defense
Network, an advocacy group. Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, called
the changes “another Trump-DeVos giveaway to their for-profit college cronies at the
expense of defrauded student borrowers.” Consumer advocates said they planned to
challenge the new rules in court. — NEW YORK TIMESTRANSPORTATION
R.I. GETS $19.5M
MORE IN
INFRASTRUCTURE
FUNDING
Rhode Island is getting $19.5 million in additional federal funding for transportation
infrastructure upgrades. Democratic US Senator Jack Reed in a statement on Sunday
said the money is in addition to nearly $306 million for bridge, highway, and mass
transit programs the state has already received this year. The additional funds will
benefit several Department of Transportation road maintenance, bridge repair, and
traffic safety projects. The department will commit the funds to specific projects by
Sept. 27. — ASSOCIATED PRESSENERGY
TESLA BATTERIES
ARE KEEPING
ZIMBABWE’S
ECONOMY
RUNNING
Zimbabweans are relying on Tesla to help them pay their bills. Amid power outages of
as long as 18 hours a day, Econet Wireless Ltd., Zimbabwe’s biggest mobile-phone op-
erator, is turning to the California automakerand storable-energy company for batter-
ies to keep its base stations running. The country faces chronic shortages of physical
cash, so almost all transactions are digital, many of them via mobile phones. “Tele-
communications have become the lifeblood of the economy,” said Norman Moyo, CEO
of Distributed Power Africa, which installs the batteries for Econet. “If the telecom net-
work is down in Zimbabwe, you can’t do any transactions.” The installation of 520
Powerwall batteries, with two in each base station, is the largest telecom project in
which Tesla has participated, Moyo said. — BLOOMBERG NEWSECONOMY
ARGENTINA
IMPOSES
CURRENCY
CONTROLS
AS DEBT CRISIS
ESCALATES
Argentina is imposing currency controls to halt the flow of dollars out of the country
as the government teeters on the brink of default. The central bank will set a deadline
for exporters to repatriate foreign currency, the government said. Institutions will also
require authorization to sell pesos on the foreign exchange market. Argentina’s peso
lost more than 25 percent last month after primary election results showed the mar-
ket-friendly government has little chance of retaining power in October’s polls. Inter-
est rates then soared as the central bank tried to roll over debt, culminating Wednes-
day in a decision to delay payments on $7 billion of bills coming due this year. The op-
position had called for currency controls, saying the government was in “virtual
default.” As the central bank tried to shore up the currency, foreign currency reserves
tumbled, losing $3 billion on Thursday and Friday alone. As well as pushing back ma-
turities on short-term debt on Wednesday, Argentina said it will ask holders of $50 bil-
lion of longer-term debt to accept a “voluntary reprofiling.”— BLOOMBERG NEWSAVIATION
AMERICAN DELAYS
RETURN
OF BOEING’S
MAX JET
American Airlines is delay-
ing the expected return of
Boeing 737 Max jets. The
airline said Sunday that
while it ‘‘remains confident’’
that software updates and
training will lead to recertifi-
cation of the aircraft this
year, it is extending cancella-
tions for Max flights through
Dec. 3. About 140 flights per day will be canceled through Dec. 3. United Airlines had
also delayed the Max’s return date, to Dec. 19. Max jets were grounded in March after
two accidents killed a total of 346 people. — ASSOCIATED PRESSTRADE
STAGE SET FOR
BREXIT CLASH
IN UK PARLIAMENT
THIS WEEK
The UK Labour Party’s chief Brexit adviser says opposition plans to block a ‘‘no-deal’’
Brexit would require postponing the country’s departure deadline again so that the
withdrawal doesn’t happen on Oct. 31, as currently scheduled. Keir Starmer told the
BBC on Sunday that legislation to be introduced in Parliament as early as Tuesday will
focus on extending the deadline to prevent Prime Minister Boris Johnson from leaving
the European Union without a deal. ‘‘The length of the extension is secondary, frankly.
We have simply got to stop us leaving without a deal,’’ he said. It would be Britain’s
third extension. Brexit first was set for March 29. A senior minister overseeing prepa-
rations for leaving with no EU withdrawal agreement declined to say if Johnson’s gov-
ernment would abide by Parliament’s decision. ‘‘Let’s see what the legislation says,’’
Michael Gove, a Brexit advocate, said. Gove’s refusal to commit to following Parlia-
ment sets up a possible constitutional clash over implementing the results of a 2016
referendum. Johnson has vowed to take Britain out of the EU on Oct. 31 even if there
is no deal in place and has made plans to shut Parliament for part of the period before
the Oct. 31 deadline. The move would shorten the time his opponents have to try to
take control of the Brexit process. — ASSOCIATED PRESSTRAVEL
COMPUTER GLITCH
IN FRANCE DELAYS
HUNDREDS
OF FLIGHTS
A computer breakdown briefly disrupted all air traffic in France and caused a cascade
of delayed flights in multiple countries Sunday, the last day of Europe’s summer holi-
days. Hundreds of flights were delayed at airports from Britain to Morocco and be-
yond. Hours after the problem with a French automatic flight plan system was fixed,
schedules still lagged elsewhere. A spokesman for France’s civil aviation authority,
DGAC, said the cause was being investigated. The problem had ‘‘no impact on flight
security’’ and was fixed before midday, allowing traffic to resume, the spokesman said.
But DGAC temporarily halted all air traffic under French control, which included
planes flying over France. The directive covered planes going in and out of Paris from
Charles de Gaulle, one of Europe’s busiest airports. Passengers traveling from neigh-
boring countries were particularly hard-hit as air traffic authorities struggled to redi-
rect flights. British Airways offered free ticket exchanges to anyone traveling to France,
Spain, Italy, or Portugal. — ASSOCIATED PRESSBy Matthew Sedacca
and David Yaffe-Bellany
NEW YORK TIMES
NEW YORK —As he
wrapped up a brunch shift at
the Australian cafe Two Hands
in Little Italy, Christopher
Mortenson saw his phone light
up. All afternoon, he had been
waiting for a notification: ABC
Cocina, an upscale Latin Amer-
ican restaurant in the Flatiron
district, needed a line cook. He
had an hour to get there.
When the shift ended,
Mortenson started sprinting
uptown. On his way to the res-
taurant, he ducked into a sup-
ply store to pick up a white
chef’s jacket. He arrived at ABC
Cocina just before 5 and spent
the evening charring peppers
and stuffing pork into tortillas.
In December, Mortenson,
tired of working 50 hours a
week for low pay, quit his job as
a cook at a vegetarian restau-
rant and became a full-time
member of the gig economy.
Now he races around New
York, working shifts at a rotat-
ing cast of restaurants that use
the hospitality staffing app
Pared. So far, he has cooked in
more than 70 kitchens.
“I have to turn the notifica-
tions off at night — I can’t
sleep,” said Mortenson, 51, who
has worked full time at restau-
rants in Las Vegas, San Francis-
co, and Austin, Texas. “They
send me so many jobs I can’t
even look at my app right now
without 10 jobs being on
there.”
Gig workers are nothing
new in the restaurant world.
Every day, contractors on bikes
and scooters deliver food for
Uber Eats and DoorDash. But
in a growing number of kitch-
ens, contract workers now
make the food, too.
With the restaurant indus-
try facing its worst labor short-
age in decades, Pared and a ri-
val app, Instawork, are filling a
growing void, as managers who
have struggled to recruit per-
manent employees turn to on-
demand services for workers
trained as servers, line cooks,
and even oyster shuckers.
Some workers are exchang-
ing the stability of traditional
hospitality jobs for the flexibili-
ty of temporary employment.
Others are using the apps to
make a quick buck on the side.
The development has raised
concerns among some labor
advocates, who argue that the
same pay and equity problems
that have emerged in other
parts of the gig economy, like
ride-hailing and delivery, could
come to the restaurant kitchen.
“The workers don’t have ac-
cess to a union. They don’t have
access to collective bargaining,”
said Ifeoma Ajunwa, an em-
ployment law expert at Cornell
University. “They basically are
powerless to whatever the plat-
form decides are the rules.”
Founded in San Francisco in
2015, Pared has more than
100,000 people signed up,
along with several thousand
restaurants in the Bay Area and
New York.
The company said it
planned to expand to Boston,
Washington, and Philadelphia
in coming months.
Instawork, also founded in
San Francisco, operates in 11
markets. A little under half a
million people have signed up
with Instawork. Pared has
raised $13 million in venture
capital, while Instawork has
raised $28 million.
“The times are changing,”
said Will Pacio, a cofounder of
Pared. “Businesses need to
evolve with the culture of the
workforce.”
Restaurants pay the apps for
a worker’s completed shift. The
apps then deduct a portion of
that fee for themselves and givethe worker the rest. Neither
service would reveal revenue
figures or its valuation.
Hourly wages vary based on
a range of factors, including the
location of a gig (a high-end
restaurant in the Hamptons
would pay more than a mom-
and-pop eatery in Queens) and
when the posting appears on
the app (workers earn more for
taking shifts that become avail-
able at the last minute).
In 2018, Pared’s gig workers
made an average of $19.66 an
hour, the company said. Insta-
work contractors earn an aver-
age of $22.77 an hour in the
Bay Area and $19.37 in greater
Los Angeles, according to Sum-
ir Meghani, one of the compa-
ny’s founders.
“We try our best not to talk
about money in front of other
employees that are employed
full time at the restaurant,” said
Zia Sheikh, a New York chef
who picks up gigs through
Pared. “You don’t want to go up
to a line cook making $17 an
hour and say, ‘Hey, I’m here do-
ing a shift for $25.’ That’s not
good for them.”
One frequent Pared custom-
er is Jean-Georges Manage-
ment, an upscale restaurant
group in New York that in-
cludes ABC Cocina. On July 4,
more than 600 people gathered
for a waterfront dinner party at
the company’s new seafood lo-
cation, the Fulton, where
guests dined on sashimi, caviar,
and fish and chips.
“Hundreds and hundreds of
pounds of fish were butchered
that day,” said Gregory Brainin,
director of culinary develop-
ment at Jean-Georges Manage-
ment.
A few days before the event,
Brainin realized he didn’t have
enough cooks. So he called
Dave Lu, one of Pared’s found-
ers.
“I told him, ‘I need eight
guys for the Fourth of July, and
these are the levels I need, and
these are the specialists I need,’
” Brainin said. “And he got it
done.”
Though Pared and Insta-
work feel akin to the ride-hail-
ing services Uber and Lyft, or a
platform like Wonolo, used by
gig workers in various indus-
tries like retailing, manufactur-
ing, and hospitality, Lu likens it
to the social platform LinkedIn.
“As they work on our plat-
form, they gain skills and expe-
rience,” he said. “They get ex-
posed to better and nicer and
nicer restaurants, different en-
vironments and different cui-
sines.”
For chefs hoping to advance
their careers, however, short
stints through Instawork and
Pared may not provide the kind
of sustained experience they
will ultimately need.
“I worry about hireability
and the accumulation of skills
over time,” said Brainin, the
Jean-Georges director.
“The person that temps for
two years as their job — I don’t
know how hirable that person
then becomes when they do
want to buckle down and get
serious.”
Career development is not
the only issue.
Like Uber drivers, workers
who use the hospitality apps
are classified as independent
contractors rather than em-
ployees, meaning they’re not
entitled to benefits like health
care, paid time off, or unem-
ployment insurance.
Gig workers can buy occu-
pational accident insurance
through Pared and Instawork
in exchange for a small slice of
their wages.
“These apps are attractive in
that they present a quick fix to
finding work and finding la-
bor,” said Ajunwa, the law pro-
fessor at Cornell University.
“But they’re also dangerous
in that they can doom workers
who use them to a lifetime of
precarious work.”Apps bring the
gig economy to
restaurant work
Boston’s on list
of likely markets