Uber has been given a small reprieve in ongoing wage and hour class action lawsuit as a California federal judge granted the company’s motion to stay the class action lawsuit.
U.S. District Court Judge Edward M. Chen halted the proposed Uber class action lawsuit brought by Uber driver Ricardo de Rio that alleges Uber misclassifies its drivers as independent contractors, stating that the pending Superior Court case Price v. Uber Technologies Inc. needs to be decided first.
“Price will likely resolve all of the state claims at issue here,” Judge Chen stated.
The Uber class action lawsuit is scheduled to consider the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification in the next few months, a reason Judge Chen gave in support of pausing the Del Rio Uber class action lawsuit.
“In particular, permitting this case to move forward creates the risk of piecemeal litigation, as the state claims will be proceeding in Price, while the underlying question of employment status will be litigated both in Price and in O’Connor v. Uber Technologies,” Judge Chen asserted.
“Additionally, the state court obtained jurisdiction first, as Price was filed nearly a year before the instant case, the state proceedings will adequately protect the rights of the litigants, and state law provides the rule of decision on the merits of plaintiffs’ state claims,” the judge further stated. “All of these factors thus favor abstention.”
Judge Nixes Uber Class Certification
The plaintiffs were dealt two other set backs as Judge Chen also dismissed the class action lawsuit claims that Uber violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and denied the motion to conditionally certify the collective class action, stating the plaintiffs failed to provide specifics to support allegations that Uber defrauded drivers on overtime pay and minimum wage.
“Here, plaintiffs’ allegations are devoid of facts. Plaintiffs do not even allege that they were personally not paid overtime or less than minimum wage, let alone a week in which they were not paid overtime or minimum wage,” said Judge Chen. “Furthermore, plaintiffs do not explain how they define ‘work,’ i.e., whether plaintiffs contend that they drivers [sic] at work whenever the Uber app is on.”
However, he gave the plaintiffs 30 days to bring forth an amended complaint.
In recent months, Uber has been hit with multiple class action lawsuits contending that the company’s business model violates numerous labor laws, including employee misclassification, failure to pay overtime wages, and denies its drivers mandatory meal and rest breaks.
Uber currently classifies drivers as independent contractors, rather than employees, which means the company doesn’t pay Social Security, health insurance, sick days and other costs. It also means drivers are responsible for their own vehicle maintenance, insurance and gas. A change in worker classification to employee would dramatically increase the operating costs for Uber.
The Uber Wage and Hour Class Action Lawsuit is Ricardo del Rio et al. v. Uber Technologies Inc., Case No. 3:15-cv-03667 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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