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A U.S. judge in Philadelphia has ruled that limousine drivers for Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] are independent contractors and not the company’s employees under federal law, the first ruling of its kind on a crucial issue for the ride-hailing company.
U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson on Wednesday said San Francisco-based Uber does not exert enough control over drivers for its limo service, UberBLACK, to be considered their employer under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The drivers work when they want to and are free to nap, run personal errands, or smoke cigarettes in between rides, Baylson said.
The legal classification of workers has been a major issue for “gig economy” companies that rely on independent contractors. Uber, in particular, has been hit with dozens of lawsuits in recent years claiming that its drivers are employees and are entitled to minimum wage, overtime, and other legal protections not afforded to contractors.
An Uber spokeswoman said the company is pleased with the decision.
Jeremy Abay, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said he would appeal the ruling to the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The 3rd Circuit would be the first federal appeals court to consider whether Uber drivers are properly classified as independent contractors.
[...] The case is Razak v. Uber Technologies Inc, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, No. 2:16-cv-00573.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by TaxiCabJesus on Monday April 16 2018, @02:19AM
When I was in the game 3 years ago, Uber Black drivers were required to supply commercial insurance and fully comply with the state's laws pertaining to vehicles for hire. I had a passenger who couldn't swing it as a taxi driver, but liked driving for Uber. He'd purchased the cheapest black BMW that would qualify for Uber Black, and whined about how much commercial insurance was going to cost him.
Uber X drivers just supplied the vehicle. Uber provided "insurance" ("trust us you're covered"), and ran interference so their Uber-X drivers could mostly ignore the state's minimal regulations pertaining to vehicles for hire.
In January 2015 newly-elected Governor Ducey threw us taxi drivers under the bus. The NFL's Superbowl was in Glendale, Arizona that month...
tl/dr: Uber Black drivers are totally different than Uber-X, because they are fully capable of legally transporting people around without Uber's assistance. Uber-X drivers freelance too (take people on paid trips that are not facilitated by their App), but they do so at their own risk - they're probably not going to get picked up by a state regulator, but personal insurance policies don't cover transportation...