Are California Uber Drivers Employees?

California Uber drivers are filing legal action against the ride share giant for allegedly misclassifying them as independent contractors than employees.

Uber currently employs over 300,000 drivers alone in California, which has allowed the company to be valued at over $60 billion as it can avoid expenses related to employment expenses.

California Uber drivers currently do not receive any overtime benefits or the basic protections provided from non exempt employment studies.

These drivers allege that they are not paid a living wage, event though they work long hours and are essentially on a constant on call basis.

This has led to many people asking whether or not California Uber drivers should be classified as employees, due to the amount of money the company saves by not classifying them as employees.

In addition, California Uber drivers also allege the company had accomplished this employment misclassification scheme by identifying itself as a “technology company” that connects people who need a ride from willing drivers.

By avoiding being classified as a “transportation company”, Uber can avoid paying minimum wage benefits, unemployment insurance, and other employment expenses.

Overview of Uber Driver Allegations

California Uber drivers allege the company is dishonest customers regarding how drivers are paid, making the customers believe that the driver tips are included in the fare they are charged for the ride.

This causes the customers to be reluctant to tip the drivers directly, and that the gratuity fee included in the fare is not paid to drivers at all.

Uber argues that the drivers are not employees, but independent contractors based on how they signed up to be drivers though their mobile service application.

Furthermore Uber states that it has little to no control over the Uber drivers, and that it merely provided a service platform for drivers to offer their services as a driver.

Control over an employee’s schedule is a key footrace in determining whether or not an individual is an independent contractor or an employee, to which California Uber drivers state the company has considerable control and supervision over the transportation services of its drivers.

Some legal experts seem to agree, as a recent motion to dismiss an Uber driver class action lawsuit was denied by U.S. District Judge Edward Chen.

Judge Chen stated “Uber would not be a viable business entity without its drivers…. Uber’s revenues do not depend on the distribution of its software, but on the generation of rides by its drivers.”

Furthermore Uber recently agreed to a massive proposed wage and hour settlement concerning 385,000 drivers, with company agreeing to pay $84 million to the plaintiffs.

However a number of plaintiffs are not satisfied with the arrangement, opting to reject the proposed settlement.

These plaintiffs are concerned the amount of the Uber settlement will not be enough to justly satisfy each of the drivers, who incurred expenses as Uber drivers and were denied employment benefits.

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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