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Uber Technologies Inc. got a legal victory over the drivers on Tuesday after a federal court of appeal dismantled the class action statute which was intended to reclassify independent contractors into employees and change the course of the so-called concert economy.
A panel of US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judges that some 240,000 carousel drivers who wish to be certified as a class to challenge the classification of their workers would be required to consider their applications individually. arbitration. The judges concluded that Uber's contract with drivers requiring private arbitration was binding after a court of first instance had ruled that Uber could not force his drivers to resort to arbitration.
The case has been closely watched by federal courts for years after the drivers first filed a lawsuit against Uber, based in San Francisco, claiming they should be labeled employees. .
Shannon Liss-Riordan, the lawyer representing the drivers in the O'Connor v. Uber Technologies Inc. et al., Stated that it was disappointed with the decision but could appeal to the ninth circuit. "Unfortunately we waited a long time," she said. "Thousands of drivers have already registered for individual arbitration. If Uber wants to resolve these disputes one by one, we are ready to do it one by one.
A spokesman for Uber said the company was "satisfied with the court's decision."
The way Uber and other concert economy companies rank their workers has been a recurring issue for years. Their business models depend on labor costs, such as health insurance and maintenance of equipment, which are generally paid by employers.
While many of these workers claim to appreciate the flexibility of setting their own schedules, they also lose the stability of hourly wages and other benefits. Changing from contract employees to employees could increase costs by 20% or more for the economy in concert, according to some estimates.
The O'Connor deal resulted in an agreement in 2016, but the drivers rejected the conditions, including about $ 100 million in payments and a commitment from Uber to revise its driver deactivation practice without warning or recourse .
Uber's growing business of connecting drivers to passengers on a smartphone app often contradicts driver pay and benefits. Over the past year, Uber has been working to mitigate some of these issues by offering items such as extra payments for long wait times and app tips.
Society is also under pressure from some cities to raise wages. Last month, New York City passed a law that would set a minimum wage for drivers, and Seattle is also considering a minimum wage floor.
Write to Greg Bensinger at [email protected]
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