Uber Drivers Are Independent Contractors, Not Employees, Judge Rules (reuters.com)

Uber drivers are independent contractors, not full-time employees of the ride-hailing company, a federal judge in Philadelphia ruled in what is said to be the first classification of Uber drivers under federal law. Reuters reports: 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. 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.

Comments

Re:Think we're going to get a legal definition soo

[alvinrod]

It doesn't matter if Uber ultimately loses. They'll just make the minimum necessary changes so that they no longer have any employees. It's similar to how after the ACA was passed, some people suddenly found themselves working 29 hours per week because their employers didn't want full time employees and the additional requirements that entailed.

If you want to ensure that gig economy workers have the best wages and conditions, make sure that there are a large number of gig economy service providers competing with each other.

Price fixing?

[duckintheface]

I think they are clearly employees, but if they are independent contractors, they then have the right to set their own prices for work. If Uber is making all its "contractors" charge the same fee, that's called price fixing and it's illegal.

Re:Think we're going to get a legal definition soo

[technosaurus]

IANAL, but As a general rule of thumb, if a person is not allowed to subcontract the work, they are considered an employee... I am pretty sure subcontracting is not allowed... ergo - more rulings to come.

Re:Public school teachers

[ShanghaiBill]

a high chance of being shot to death?

Schools are very safe. A child in America is far more likely to be shot at home. If you have been led to believe otherwise, you should reexamine your news sources.

You're falling for right wing identity politics

[rsilvergun]

the modern American left isn't about any of that. They're about sound economic policy, to wit:

a. Medicare for all.

b. End the wars.

c. College for all.

d. New New Deal.

e. Infrastructure spending.

f. Living Wage.

The right likes to find our crazies and give them megaphones. It's easy to do because the American right wing owns the media. Ask yourself how often you hear a serious discussion of left wing economic ideas on TV. You don't. Don't be fooled by the right wing media and their cheap identity politics.