The popular ride sharing giant, Uber, has always classified its drivers as contractors.

However, many drivers are speaking up against the company.

In fact, Uber is the subject of several lawsuits currently regarding Uber driver pay in California and other states.

Uber has already made settlement offers on at least four Uber driver pay cases this year totaling nearly $150 million.

Some make the observation that Uber’s rush to settle outstanding cases might signal an upcoming IPO.

Uber Driver Pay Problems

Uber drivers claim that they have been denied certain protections under the California Labor Code.

The California Labor Code obligates employers to reimburse employees for certain expenses.

These include things like fuel and other costs associated with Uber drivers using their own vehicles.

Other costs that Uber should have covered, but drivers say they must pay on their own, include fines issued for unlicensed operation in the city, car payments, iPhone leases and other costs of doing business as a cab driver in New York, according to a New York City Uber driver pay lawsuit.

Uber drivers also accuse Uber of misrepresenting to riders that their tips were included in the fare.

However, Uber drivers do not receive the full amount of the gratuity that has been advertised. This violates California’s Unfair Competition Law, some drivers claim.

Nationally, drivers for Uber say that the company has considerable control and supervision over them and their schedules. This classifies them as employees of Uber.

“Uber drivers must strictly follow a litany of very specific company imposed regulations that govern how, when, where and who gets to work, yet Uber enjoys the benefits of misclassifying drivers as ‘independent contractors,” some plaintiffs in an Uber driver pay lawsuit have said.

Uber Driver Pay Lawsuits

In 2013, a major Uber driver pay class action lawsuit with a class of 385,000 Uber drivers from California and Massachusetts was filed.

This Uber driver pay lawsuit asserted that Uber drivers were entitled to the benefits and Uber driver pay that is usually afforded to employees.

In April of this year, an $84 million settlement was negotiated; however, San Francisco, California Uber drivers claim that it wasn’t enough. The attorney for the class offered to cut fees in half in order to help the deal go through.

Uber has had to deal with many lawsuits recently regarding Uber driver pay. This year, a group representing 5,000 Uber drivers in New York City filed a lawsuit claiming the drivers were misclassified as contractors but should be employees.

Another lawsuit was filed in Boston recently citing the same Uber driver pay issues.

Filing an Uber Driver Pay Lawsuit

Labor laws exist to protect employees from being taken advantage of by their employers. Any Uber drivers who feel they have been a victim of employee misclassification could have a legal claim.