Posted on 06/18/2015 12:11:24 AM PDT by Brad from Tennessee
In a ruling that fuels a long-simmering debate over some of Silicon Valley’s fastest-growing technology companies and the work they are creating, the California Labor Commissioner’s Office said that a driver for the ride-hailing service Uber should be classified as an employee, not an independent contractor.
The ruling ordered Uber to reimburse Barbara Ann Berwick $4,152.20 in expenses and other costs for the roughly eight weeks she worked as an Uber driver last year. While Uber has long positioned itself as merely an app that connects drivers and passengers — with no control over the hours its drivers work — the labor office cited many instances in which it said Uber acted more like an employer. Uber is appealing the decision.
The ruling does not apply beyond Ms. Berwick and could be altered if Uber’s appeal succeeds. Uber has also prevailed in at least five other states in keeping its definition of drivers as independent contractors. Yet the California ruling stands out because officials formally laid out their arguments for why Uber drivers are employees. That could bolster class-action lawsuits against the company in the state. California law expressly requires employers to reimburse employees for business expenses and several suits proceeding against Uber are based on that state law.
Companies like Uber and its rival Lyft, and Instacart, a grocery delivery service, have long faced questions about whether they are creating the right kind of employment opportunities for both the economy and for workers. . .
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
How would this be a bad thing? CA needs to feel the pain.
Don’t forget the revenue municipalities get from the taxi medallion.
Non-incorporated consultants easily fall under the “employee” umbrella in NY.
You’ll have better luck grabbing a lightning bolt in LA than finding a cab. This a stupid freaking ruling. When you do find a taxi they cost more than you can imagine. You aren’t going crosstown in Manhattan for a few dollars, it’s so spread out that cabs average $50-$80 bucks. Then there’s the traffic “add.”
Remember ... lawyers earn serious bucks out of screwing up the English language .....
(But your honor ... he DID make three left turns and God is love and love is blind and stevie wonder is blind so stevie wonder is God and THAT'S why my client should get 145 gazillion dollars ..
Hmmmmm ... I think you're correct councilor .... DONE ! )
We really need Uber. A taxi is impossible to find in LA for the most part. An LA is enormous! Taxis cost a lot of money.
We need some alternative to our cars.
Orrrr you need to tell the greenies to bugger off and start building/upgrading your existing roads instead of spending money on useless trains to nowhere.
“The ruling ordered Uber to reimburse Barbara Ann Berwick $4,152.20 in expenses and other costs for the roughly eight weeks she worked as an Uber driver last year.”
This because some dummy doesn’t understand how to operate her own business.
To be fair, I’ve been involved with several industries where one of the main business models is to set workers up as fake contractors or franchisees to get around the employee rules.
But I seriously doubt this applies to Uber.
If it is true they can control when you work, how you work, when you take breaks, said you had to take all comers, submit tons of documentation aside from signing into the app and accepting payment, they are more of a taxi company with employees than a meeting-connection app.
So cynical in your assessment of how our legal system works. An illogical argument like that is apt to get you fined or have the judge be really pissed off at you (which is often worse). Even so, only Uber had lawyers. The plaintiff represented herself (in pro per).
I can see where the Commission came to this conclusion based on the contract terms a driver MUST follow to the letter at all times. A major factor is the principal’s degree and control over the worker. Here, Uber said: we must approve of your car, you will submit to background checks, you MAY NOT accept tips because it could impact Uber’s competitiveness, Uber must approve anyone you want to work under you, you MUST you an iPhone to use the app, etc.
[This because some dummy doesn’t understand how to operate her own business.]
This case may have been contrived to begin forcing Uber out of the state. The taxi drivers union may be behind it.
TAXI DRIVERS TRYING TO TAKE DOWN UBER
https://news.vice.com/article/taxi-drivers-are-trying-to-take-down-uber
< /s > ... there .... fixed
California Uber Alles.
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