Brazil Judge Rules Uber Drivers Are Employees, Deserve Benefits (reuters.com)

An anonymous reader shares a Reuters report: A Brazilian judge ruled that a driver using the Uber ride-hailing app is an employee of the San Francisco-based company and is entitled to workers' benefits, adding to the global debate over labor rights for drivers on the platform. Uber said on Tuesday it would appeal the decision by Judge Marcio Toledo Goncalves, who issued the ruling late Monday in a labor court in Minas Gerais state. Goncalves ordered Uber to pay one driver around 30,000 reais ($10,000) in compensation for overtime, night shifts, holidays and expenses such as gasoline, water and candy for passengers. The consequences for Uber, if the ruling is upheld, could be far greater if more drivers follow suit and if state and federal regulators and tax agencies start treating it, as the judge suggested, as a transportation company rather than a tech firm.

Comments

Ignorant

[KalvinB]

The whole point is that taxis operate at excessive costs and poor quality precisely because of a playing field that is stupid.

Uber is playing on an entirely different field.

And if you don't want to play on it, you can go be a taxi driver.

It's completely ignorant to demand companies play on the "same playing field" when the whole point is to escape the existing one.

You're not an employee of Uber. You're a contractor. You set your own hours. If you don't like the terms, find another job.

If you like the terms of being a taxi driver better, be a taxi driver.