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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, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 15 2019, @11:26PM (5 children)
So is New Jersey worried these uber drivers are going to collect disability they didn't know they were eligible for years ago? Or previous unemployment when they couldn't find any uber riders back in February?
These might be "owed" in a legal sense, but its not like their absence caused a loss to the state - the people these payments were protecting were probably unable to protect.
And if New Jersey does succeed and get a ruling in their favor, won't that open the gates for miss-classified employees to sue for denial of claims based on that miss-classifcation?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by barbara hudson on Friday November 15 2019, @11:43PM (4 children)
That's all it takes. If you legally owe something, then you either pay or go bankrupt. In Uber's case, bankruptcy is inevitable, so why not just wind it up while investors can get some of their capital back?
SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
(Score: 2) by edIII on Saturday November 16 2019, @02:39AM (2 children)
They're screwed then. If New Jersey does get Uber to cough up that much money, what's going to happen everywhere else?
A politicians point of view:
1) popular legislation apparently
2) pro-progressive pro-labor optics
3) 650 fucking million dollars
4) 650 fucking million dollars
5) 650 fucking million dollars
I predict that will be the new trend for states. Legalizing MJ and suing Uber :)
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Sunday November 17 2019, @12:27AM (1 child)
SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday November 17 2019, @05:26AM
Yes, we didn't those jobs anyway.
And no getting paid for providing a valuable service. You can break the economy a lot - if ride hailing gets destroyed, it's not that the straw that breaks the camel's back. But eventually, something will be that straw. Better to just not do such things in the first place so we have a less fragile economy.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday November 16 2019, @04:26PM