Uber wages class action overview:
- Who: Four Uber drivers are suing the rideshare company.
- Why: The plaintiffs say the company misclassified them as independent contractors.
- Where: The Uber wages class action was filed in a California federal court.
Uber misclassified its drivers as independent contractors, underpaying them on wages, overtime and other benefits they were due, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiffs Taje Gill, Craig Lambert, William Collignon and Christina Ferreira filed the class action lawsuit against Uber Technologies Inc., Raiser LLC, Portier LLC and Schleuder LLC on Feb. 3 in a California federal court, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The plaintiffs are all current or former drivers who opted out of the arbitration agreement in their employment agreements with Uber, they say.
“Uber has misclassified its drivers and thereby deprived them of protections they are entitled to under the FLSA and California Labor Code,” the lawsuit alleges.
Based on the drivers’ alleged misclassification as independent contractors, Uber failed to guarantee and pay its drivers for all of the hours they worked at minimum wage and also failed to pay overtime for hours worked in excess of eight hours per day or forty hours per week.
Uber also failed to provide properly itemized wage statements for its drivers and made them pay for their own business expenses, including gas, insurance and data, the lawsuit states.
Uber tried to dodge liability through false classification, lawsuit alleges
While Uber attempted a “carve-out” from California statute that requires it to pay its workers as employees, it did not obtain such an exemption, the lawsuit states.
“Nevertheless, Uber has defied this statute and continued to classify its drivers as independent contractors… This ongoing defiance of the law constitutes willful violation of the California Labor Code,” it says.
Uber tried to “shield itself from liability for its blatant minimum wage violations” by misclassifying its drivers as independent contractors, the drivers say.
However, Uber drivers are employees, they argue. They say they are required to follow detailed requirements imposed on them by the company, and they are graded, and subject to termination, based on their failure to adhere to these requirements, as an employee is.
The plaintiffs seek to represent all current and former California Uber drivers and are asking for certification of the class action, unpaid wages, unpaid expenses, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial.
Meanwhile, a settlement agreement worth $8.4 million between Uber and drivers who argued they were misclassified as independent contractors was last year approved by a California federal judge.
What do you think of the allegations against Uber in this case? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiffs are represented by David R. Markham, Maggie Realin and Lisa Brevard of Markham Law Firm, Catherine E. Anderson of Giskan Solotaroff & Anderson LLP, Roosevelt N. Nesmith of Law Office of Roosevelt N. Nesmith LLC and Russell S. Warren Jr. of Law Office of Russell S. Warren Jr.
The Uber class action lawsuit is Taje Gill, et al. v. Uber Technologies Inc., Case No. 4:23-cv-00518-KAW, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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36 thoughts onUber class action alleges company fails to pay adequate minimum, overtime wages
we need some of that justice down in Texas as well because its a joke what us uber drivers are getting paid down here in Texas plus all the pressure they put on us while driving and picking up passengers . not to mention all that pressure we deal with from both sides either uber or the passengers. not to mention other things that they do to us drivers to get paid scraps
What do Uber drivers need to do?
What if we are from
Another state and feel the same way and work for Uber or Uber eats? I don’t know if this counts? I’m ok Michigan
Why is this case not being extended to provide relief for drivers in Nevada and Arizona, too? Everyone knew what the difference was between an employee and independent contractor before Uber was invented. Everyone. For Uber to tell drivers in Las Vegas that they have to pay for an independent contractor license to operate as an independent contractor in Las Vegas and surrounding cities within Clark County, NV, and then not treat them like an independent contractor, but instead, play games with drivers, specifically telling female drivers that they are part of class of workers specific to the way they are being paid, but then refuse to explain to female drivers exactly what class of workers Uber is putting them into, smacks of blatant discrimination in wages of female drivers doing the same job as male drivers, yet neither gender protected class was/is able to set their own prices for fares to cover their expenses, and are advised by Uber app when to work to make more money, yet take even that “flexibility” away from drivers and direct them to work in geofenced areas that drivers may not want to work in, but feel obligated to do so, because apps would not allow certain drivers to do rides from the airport, and would continuously change the FIFO airport queued rides, forcing drivers to other less profitable areas, less safe areas, and making drivers fight for bonuses for quests completed due to ambiguous gaming rules for pickups, dropoffs within certain time frames and certain geofenced areas, up to and including not giving quest completion rides to drivers, thereby making profit off drivers attempts to complete quests and then yanking the rug out from under them by not giving them rides, even if driver is in a busy area, just so the company could tell the driver, “Sorry, you didn’t complete your quest.”
This is the real world of transporting people from point a to point b safely. Not some virtual reality game of Dungeons & Dragons where the players in charge of the game can keep changing the rules of the game and walk over and thru established employment laws in all 50 states. All drivers need to be made whole again. Arbitration is stopping drivers from having their day in court and this argument will go on forever like the game of Dungeons & Dragons if the good employment law attorneys do not step out of Uber’s virtual reality world and fight for all drivers in the empirical world.
The insurance companies are making riders and drivers insurance poor, by issuing Rideshare policies that are paid for by drivers, but then provide little or no protection to drivers to operate as independent contractors, claiming they will not cover drivers in their personal vehicles while on the app in periods 2 and 3, putting the liability into the app companies, who are mandate to provide commercial insurance to all riders and drivers, but the fees charged per ride to include individual ride premiums appear to be extortion premiums with extremely high deductibles for drivers, which would further cause financial harm to drivers, including their own personal insurance policy not wanting to cover drivers, especiallly if drivers offer riders a less expensive fare rate, as an independent contractor should/would have the option to do so, if they were recognized as independent contractors in all states and allowed to operate with affordable insurance as independent contractors. Uber and insurance companies keeping both riders and drivers insurance poor, too! And Rideshare insurance policies m, such as State Farm, tell drivers they can not charge a rider a fare? State Farm agents are independent contractors, too, in some circumstances, as well as having employees, right? How are drivers to afford ANY insurance policy from ANY company if not allowed to work for profit to be able to put food on their tables first, instead of just work to feed insurance companies’ agents and employees, as well as big app tech corporations. We all have the Right to Travel, and independent contractors should be able to help keep money circulating in their own communities, between their local insurance companies, riders and drivers, so we can all afford to go to the County or State Fair. Think about it. Drivers are not anyone’s slaves.
Uber needs to provide restitution in all 59 states (and it’s territories) for deceiving the very elect, the workers, and the workers’ communities at large. And Uber should be fined and give back to the communities to help fix their roads and bridges infrastructure. Their business model is an atrocity and a slap in the face to all ethical and moral businesses that do abide by established employment laws. Uber is the largest taxi cab industry in the world. And State Farm is no longer a good neighbor. Drivers deserve restitution now. Not years from now because our courts are made to believe that Uber can not afford to settle the most significant case ever brought before the courts. Sure it can. How do you think it became a $144Billion company? Off the backs of drivers and riders. Enough is enough.
Uber seems to have blocked me from getting rides with my Tesla because the customer does not see or is able to choose Uber Comfort electric or Uber Green. I waited all day to get a ride request with those above chosen on my driver app to include Uber comfort. So the algorithm is not working to provide an electric vehicles like Tesla to get any rides.
Correction: typo error due to auto correct. *50 states (and it’s territories, e.g., Puerto Rico)
Very well said and 100% truth!!! I’m emotional scarred from the mind games Uber plays with their drivers and cannot believe they are allowed to continue to do it and get away with it..Makes no sense to me at all.
Please add me, too. It’s a tough gig driving for Uber with no real reimbursement for using your own vehicle; gas/oil, gen. maintenance, depreciation, miles, wear & tear, etc. – not “built-in” to drivers’ fee. Deduct on your taxes? right.
It frustrates me, how Uber charges a weekly technology service fee, when they have absolutely refused to update the android users to have the same app features that iphone users have
I believe Uber is bankrupting drivers. No pay for maintenance free labor. In Virginia it is a such thing as wage theft. They make profit at your expense.
Uber definitely robbing the drivers while they get rich
I believe Uber is bankrupting drivers. No pay for maintenance free labor. In Virginia it is a such thing as wage theft. They make profit at your expense.