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posted by Fnord666 on Sunday April 15 2018, @08:16PM   Printer-friendly
from the independent-employees dept.

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.


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 15 2018, @08:32PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 15 2018, @08:32PM (#667379)

    Start your own ride-hailing app. Halve the fees paid by drivers and passengers compared to Uber and Lyft. I'll wait for your multi-billion dollar valuation.

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  • (Score: 5, Funny) by wonkey_monkey on Sunday April 15 2018, @10:20PM

    by wonkey_monkey (279) on Sunday April 15 2018, @10:20PM (#667403) Homepage

    I'm more of an ideas guy, so maybe you could, like, write the app for me? It'd be great exposure.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk