Uber Wins Key Ruling In Its Fight Against Treating Drivers As Employees (arstechnica.com)

A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that drivers "seeking to be classified as employees rather than independent contractors must arbitrate their claims individually, and not pursue class-action lawsuits," reports Reuters. Ars Technica explains the significance of this ruling: Employees are guaranteed to earn federal minimum wage and are entitled to overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours per week. Uber employees, in contrast, are paid by the ride and might earn much less than minimum wage if they drive at a slow time of day. California law also gives employees the right to be reimbursed for expenses they incur on the job, which would be significant for Uber drivers who otherwise are responsible for gas, maintenance, insurance, and other expenses of operating an Uber vehicle.

Hence, the question of whether Uber drivers are employees or independent contractors is a big and important one. It's also a question that isn't addressed at all in Tuesday's ruling, as the courts never get to the substance of the plaintiffs' arguments about employment law. Instead, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit court ruled that the drivers signed away their rights to sue in court when they signed up to be Uber drivers. Uber's agreement with drivers requires that this kind of dispute be handled by private arbitration rather than by a lawsuit in the public courts. The court cited a Supreme Court ruling handed down in May that held that federal labor law did not preempt arbitration agreements. [...] the decision means that each driver's case must be fought on an individual, case-by-case basis. Class-action lawsuits in the federal courts allow plaintiffs to effectively pool their resources. [...] But under arbitration, each driver's case will be considered individually. Most won't have the resources to afford top-tier legal representation, and drivers won't have the inherent leverage that comes from being able to bargain as a group.

Comments

I used to Tip Uber drivers

[commodore64_love]

(1) Their "real" income after expenses puts them below minimum wage ($9.20 an hour). I felt sorry for them. They could work at a restaurant or store and earn better income.

(2) I say "used to" because one of those drivers I gave a generous tip, then proceeded to charge me for HIS drive from Santa Ana to Pasadena. I figured it was a mistake. BUT THEN Uber told me, "The driver says he took your girlfriend home, so that was the cause for the extra charge. No refund."

Problem: No girlfriend. I lost $120, and immediately erased Uber's app since that's not the kind of company I want to do business with.

Re:I used to Tip Uber drivers

[Mr_Silver]

The first part was a legitimate trip. The second part was the driver illegally extending the trip beyond its original destination, and charging me for it ($120 extra).

Funnily enough Uber tried to fix this issue by continuing to track the riders phone whilst the app was closed.

The theory being that if the rider and the driver parted ways, yet the driver reported taking the rider somewhere else, then Uber could easily verify if driver was trying to defraud the system.

Unfortunately people didn't like being tracked after their ride had finished and there was uproar. Apple's privacy change put the final nail in the coffin for it.

Easy Solution

[rsilvergun]

Vote for pro-worker, pro-consumer, anti-corporate candidates. I said this elsewhere in this thread, but folks like Bernie Sanders, Liz Warren, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and the entire lot of the Justice Democrats. Look for candidates who refuse corporate PAC money. And remind your friends and family to do the same. That'll do more to help Uber drivers than the occasional $10 tip.