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from the get-to-refile-four-years-of-state-and-federal-taxes,-too dept.
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
New Jersey is the latest state to say Uber's drivers should be classified as employees rather than independent contractors. The state's labor department said that because of this misclassification, the ride-hailing company owes it roughly $650 million in unemployment taxes and disability insurance, according to Bloomberg Law.
The labor department reportedly has been trying to get unpaid employment taxes from Uber going back as far as 2015, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg Law. It said the company owed the state $523 million in overdue taxes along with another $119 million in interest and penalties for the last four years. Uber disputes these findings.
"We are challenging this preliminary but incorrect determination," an Uber spokesman said in an email. "Because drivers are independent contractors in New Jersey and elsewhere."
Driver classification is an issue that government regulators have been taking a closer look at over the past year. California passed a law in September that could require Uber and other on-demand companies to reclassify their drivers as employees instead of independent contractors. The law is set to go into effect Jan. 1. New York, Oregon and Washington state have considered similar legislation.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday November 16 2019, @02:40AM (4 children)
I think that's the key, edIII. As a contractor, I could always decide for myself exactly what to charge, for each and every job. That price is negotiated with the customer. If some third party decides for me what the price will be, then I'm no longer an independent contractor. I think that maybe Uber looked at the world of truck driving, saw how the corporates are taking advantage of people who want to own their own trucks, and tried to take advantage of all those loopholes. Government needs to take a look at how that whole can of worms works, and make some changes.
As a contractor, the Uber driver who picks up a well heeled customer at LAX should be able to set his price based on his judgement that the potential customer can afford and is willing to pay ten dollars per mile. Or twenty, or fifty dollars per mile. As long as Uber is setting the price, he's not independent at all.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday November 16 2019, @02:57AM (3 children)
Like a head hunter? In the case of Uber, the driver still has the power to reject what Uber offers.
Why?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday November 16 2019, @03:12AM (2 children)
As employees, we all have the power to reject what the boss offers. The moment we lose that power, then we are no longer employees, but slaves. Perhaps you would like to try again with a real point?
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday November 16 2019, @04:20PM (1 child)
Or contractors.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Sunday November 17 2019, @05:08PM
Their point, I think, is that being able to reject the offer is not relevant to the discussion of whether you are a contractor or an employee.