Summary: New York City Uber drivers are filing a class action lawsuit of their own to address their status as employees or not.
Nearly 5,000 New York City Uber drivers have been represented by a group in a purposed class-action lawsuit against the company for a number of employment violations. The lawsuit accuses the ride-sharing company of misclassifying the drivers as independent contractors, a similar lawsuit that California and other states have already seen filed.
The New York Taxi Workers Alliance filed the lawsuit on behalf of 10 drivers stating that Uber drivers should be employees subjected to minimum wages, reimbursements for expenses, and overtime pay. Uber spokesman Matthew Wing calls the lawsuit “a thinly veiled stunt,” especially since they Taxi Workers Alliance filed on behalf of Uber drivers and not their own members.
Read Uber Files Appeal Against Drivers Being Classified as Employees.
The Alliance has also filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against the arbitration agreements Uber drivers sign. They believe it is illegal since it prohibits the drivers from filing class action claims.
Uber reached a deal with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union to form an “independent drivers guild” for the city’s drivers. The lawsuit claims Uber grew aggressively in 2011 in New York City by promising decent wages. For many of these drivers, their wages went towards maintenance, car payments, and surcharges from Uber.
See Uber, Lyft Exit Austin after City Votes to Keep Fingerprinting Law.
Taxi groups across the country want Uber drivers to be fingerprinted and for their cars to be outfitted to accommodate those with disabilities, such as the taxi drivers have to.
With the related case in California and Massachusetts, Uber decided to settle but an agreement has yet to be accepted by a judge.
Do you think Uber drivers are employees? Tell us your reasons in the comments.
To learn more about Uber’s legal troubles worldwide, read Uber Allowed to Operate in France Though Bans Continue Worldwide.
Photo: marketmadhouse.com