A federal judge in California has certified a class action brought against so-called ride-sharing company Uber by drivers challenging their classification as independent contractors.
US District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco issued the ruling Aug. 31, increasing potential damages in what has become a litmus-test case on worker classification and the technology-based companies that rely on contractors for whom they do not have pay minimum wage, overtime pay or expenses, including social security contributions, and other costs. The drivers say they are controlled more like employees, and should receive such entitlements.
While the plaintiffs in O’Connor v. Uber Technologies sued on behalf of about 160,000 drivers for the company in California since 2009, the judge restricted the class primarily to those who had not waived their right to arbitration.
“The Court declined to certify this very broad class of people, instead opting for a much smaller group–so small in fact that it even excludes one of the original plaintiffs,” an Uber press release said.
The company, which has said it will appeal the decision, estimated that the class would be whittled to 15,000 because “the ruling found that only drivers who either stopped driving before June 2014 or drove after June 2014 but chose to opt out of the arbitration option in their agreements, are eligible.
“Most of the growth in driver numbers has happened since then — not just in California but across the United States and the rest of the world,” the company said.
The US Dept. of Labor meanwhile issued guidance in July recasting most independent contractors–and other workers–as employees protected by labor laws.
