(credit: Adam Fagen)
A federal class action essentially asking whether Uber drivers should be classified as employees instead of contractors was dealt a major blow when a federal appeals court put the brakes on the closely watched lawsuit. The Tuesday move (PDF) by the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals will set aside a June trial representing as many as 240,000 current and former Uber drivers in California that was scheduled in San Francisco federal court.
Uber had appealed a federal judge's decision last year certifying the class, saying the ruling paved the way for a "runaway class action." The ride-hailing company, based in San Francisco, said riders agreed to arbitration clauses as a condition of employment. If Uber prevails, that means each driver likely would have to independently arbitrate their claims in a bid to be treated as an employee instead of a contractor. That would amount to a major victory for Uber and a big blow to Uber drivers. In its one-page order, the 9th Circuit cited a 2005 precedent that said appeals courts should intervene in class-action certification decisions if they are "manifestly erroneous." The appeals court said it would hear the challenge this summer.
The California Labor Commission in June set a precedent and sided with a single Uber driver that complained she should be classified as an employee.
Read 2 remaining paragraphs | Comments
No comments:
Post a Comment