Gig economy reckoning spreads to popular home services company

Darlene Demiraiakian started working as an independent contractor for Handy, an on-demand service for home cleaning and handyman tasks, more than a year and a half ago for the flexibility it provided her to make money while caring for her terminally ill partner. But she says there have been countless instances when something has gone awry — each of which has made her feel like she has little control over what arises while working for the company.

Demiraiakian, who does furniture assembly and handyman work, says she was once tasked with what was supposed to be a small tree stump removal only to discover it would require much more powerful tools than she'd brought -- information that she says wasn't relayed to her until she arrived at the job. After attempting to remove the stump anyway, she not only left with a collection of broken tools -- which she estimates cost her $500 and which she'd have to replace herself -- but her pay was docked for leaving the job early. (A Handy spokesperson said Demiraiakian was paid in full for the job in question. When asked about the discrepancy with Demiraiakian's account, which she also submitted as part of a legal declaration, the spokesperson declined to comment.)