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

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.

Legal definitions

[raymorris]

The law considers the following things:

Independence in investment in and choice of equipment etc. If the worker uses their own judgement to decide which equipment they want to use, and they buy their equipment, that may be an independent contractor. If the payer chooses and buys the equipment, it's likely an employee using it. In this cass, the employee chooses and buys their own car.

Permanence. Short-term gigs are often contracts. Projects that take more than a year to complete, where the worker is expected to be there long term, are likely employees. People doing Uber while between jobs, or to get some extra holiday cash, look like contractors.

Degree of control. Does the payer specify the outcome (fix my sink) or the exact process?

Financial risk. If the company guarantees exactly $x / hour, no more or less, that's probably an employee. If the worker can make more or less depending on how they choose to run their work, that's probably a contract.

Initiative and judgement. Is the worker following a script provided by the payer, or making their own plans and judgements? Can the Uber driver decide what area to work, based on which part of town they think will make the most money?

Ability to work for others, and actually working for others. Can Uber drivers also drive for Lyft? The plumber I hire to fix my sink also does similar work for other people, so he's a contractor. I have a limited non-compete clause with my employer, so I'm an employee.

I probably forgot one.

The IRS has extensive guidelines. The department of labor has similar ones, but not as extensive. The Supreme Court has enumerated broad considerations in certain cases.

Generally, the word "Independent" in "independent contractor" is important. Does the worker control how they do the work?

With Uber it seems to me people have two viewpoints on the whole thing. Uber advertises "make extra money in your free time". Many drivers see it as a full-time, long-term job.

It seems to me that while *some* people are able figure out the best hours and locations to work in order to do well with it long-term, for most people it's probably better as something you'd do while looking for another job, or only occasionally during surge pricing periods or whatever.

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.