California Uber Employee Versus Independent Contractor

In California, many drivers who work for the transportation company, Uber, feel as if they have been misclassified.

An Uber driver signs up as a contractor, however, he or she actually might better be classified as a California Uber employee.

Even though the company has seen a lot of success in the past few years, Uber is facing several class action lawsuits.

In essence, drivers claim that they aren’t paid a living wage for the work they do under their classification as contractors.

Drivers claim that Uber has attempted to get around California labor laws by misclassifying drivers as contractors when each driver should be listed as a California Uber employee.

If an Uber driver is classified correctly as a California Uber employee, he or she would be guaranteed certain employment rights such as fair wages, overtime pay, reimbursement for expenses and health insurance.

Some drivers say that Uber gets away with such actions because they portray themselves as a technology company rather than a transportation company. As a technology company Uber merely connects those who need rides with those who can provide rides.

Many California Uber drivers think differently.

California Uber Employee Settlement

In California recently, a $100 million settlement has been proposed. This will settle 2 class action lawsuits and resolve claims with 385,000 drivers.

Under this California Uber employee settlement, Uber will pay $84 million to the plaintiffs in Massachusetts and California, and then will pay another $16 million if and when Uber goes public.

Even though Uber will continue to classify its drivers as contractors, they will have to follow some rules. Uber has agreed to the following:

• Pay up to $100 million in fees to drivers in California and Massachusetts
• Revise its practice of deactivating drivers from the app with little warning or recourse
• Give warnings before removing drivers from the service
• Allow drivers to post signs in their cars asking for tips

However, some California Uber drivers do not see this settlement as a windfall. At least one former Uber driver has taken a public stand against the settlement and hired his own counsel. He claims that the lead counsel for the giant settlement pressure him and other drivers into accepting the terms of the settlement.

He claims that he initiated the Uber class action lawsuit to ensure the protection of every California Uber employee and employees of like companies. The plaintiff says that this settlement will not offer any protection to Uber drivers.

The lead counsel for the plaintiffs in the case, Shannon Liss-Riordan, said in response, “If this settlement is scuttled, there is no guarantee that Uber drivers will get anything. Plaintiffs negotiated the best deal possible that would result in fair monetary and non-monetary benefits to” drivers.

Other class members agree with the initiating plaintiff. Many are disappointed that the terms of the settlement are as severe as they would like. Drivers will still have to pay for their own gas and other expenses, while not receiving any wages for the time they spend waiting for fares.

Frequent Uber drivers would receive $4,000 to $8,000 payouts under this California Uber employee settlement, but many say it is not enough. Some also thought that the language of the agreement makes is possible for Uber to continue deactivating drivers for any reason as long as it provides a written explanation.

30 class members have filed objections to the settlement.

Join a Free California Uber Driver Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you are an California Uber driver, you may be eligible to join a class action lawsuit investigation into claims they you were misclassified as independent contractors. Find out if you qualify.

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