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The call for broader protections for on-demand workers is getting louder. And some companies are listening.WIRED reports that Shyp, a San Francisco-based startup that picks up, packages, and ships items on demand, said that it’s converting its couriers from independent contractors to full-fledged employees. The move, announced in a blog post by CEO Kevin Gibbon, makes Shyp one of the few on-demand companies to boast a workforce made up entirely of employees.

“This move is an investment in a longer-term relationship with our couriers, which we believe will ultimately create the best experience for our customers,” Gibbon writes. “We want to provide our couriers with additional supervision, coaching, branded assets and training, which can only be done with employees, so a shift is needed.”

According to Gibbon, while its van drivers and warehouse workers have been classified as W-2 employees all along, its couriers – workers who actually interact with the customers, picking up their items meant for shipping – were previously classified as independent contractors. This shift would convert all couriers into employees.

Shyp’s workforce of van drivers, warehouse workers, and couriers will consist of a mix of full-time and part-time employees, the company told WIRED. Newly classified W-2 couriers will get workers’ compensation and vehicle reimbursement as well as unemployment, Social Security, and Medicare. Additional benefits such as healthcare will be available to full-time workers.

Shyp’s move comes at a time when the debate around how to properly classify workers for on-demand companies is heating up. As startups like Uber and Instacart go mainstream, so has awareness – and criticism – of the so-called 1099 economy on-demand companies foster. These startups typically employ freelance contractors, a status they pitch as desirable because the work is relatively undemanding and flexible. (Instacart recently began offering its shoppers an option to convert from contractor to part-time; Uber is fighting a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of misclassifying its drivers as contractors.)

Shyp for its part is growing fast. After launching in San Francisco last year, it now has operations in New York City, Miami, and Los Angeles and plans to expand to Chicago soon. The number of packages shipped by Shyp has grown nearly 500 percent since closing its first round of funding, the company says, and its customer base is growing by more than 20 percent month over month