Uber driver is employee, not independent contractor, California Labor Commission says
Those who operate the Uber ride-sharing service say the company simply acts as a middleman, connecting passengers and private drivers through a smartphone application.
But in a ruling earlier this year that that could be persuasive to other tribunals, the California Labor Commission disagreed, determining that oversight by Uber on multiple fronts makes one San Francisco-based driver an employee protected by state and federal labor laws, according to the Los Angeles Times (sub. req.) and the New York Times (reg. req.)
”Defendants hold themselves out as nothing more than a neutral technological platform, designed simply to enable drivers and passengers to transact the business of transportation,” the commission says in its decision. “The reality, however, is that defendants are involved in every aspect of the operation.”
For example, Uber conducts background checks on drivers; requires them to provide addresses, social security numbers and banking information; and says the cars they drive must be no more than 10 years old and registered with the company.
Uber is appealing the $4,152 award to Barbara Ann Berwick; the company’s Monday filing in San Francisco Superior Court includes a copy of the commission’s March ruling.
Boston attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan represents Uber and Lyft drivers. ABA Journal file photo by Carl Tremblay.
While the labor commission ruling applies only to Berwick, “obviously it has repercussions beyond one driver,” Boston attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan told the LA Times. “It’s clear the reasoning applies to Uber’s business model in general.”
Liss-Riordan is representing Uber and Lyft drivers in class action litigation alleging that the companies misclassified drivers as independent contractors when they are in fact employees. If the plaintiffs win, the ride-sharing companies could be required to reimburse drivers for overtime hours and work-related expenses. They also could be liable for unpaid social security, unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation contributions owed to the government, as well as penalties for late payment.
Uber said in a statement that “the California labor commission’s ruling is nonbinding and applies to a single driver.”
A state agency in Florida also determined earlier this year that an Uber driver is an employee, Reuters reports.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: ” Are Lyft and Uber drivers employees? Juries will decide”
See also:
ABA Journal: “Do janitorial firms cash in by misclassifying workers as independent contractors?”
ABAJournal.com: “Claims of ‘wage theft’ spark movement to increase federal enforcement, require detailed pay stubs”
ABAJournal.com: “FedEx will pay $227M to settle suits alleging it misclassified its delivery drivers”
