A court hearing in San Francisco is set for Thursday to hear whether a group of Uber drivers can obtain class-action status for a lawsuit it filed against the e-hailing giant seeking to classify drivers as employees of the company, instead of independent contractors.
The hearing comes two months after California’s labor commission ruled that a driver for Uber must be considered an employee. Uber is appealing that decision, which applies only to one individual driver.
If class-action status is granted in this week’s hearing, plaintiffs would be able to pool together resources and gain more leverage in negotiating settlements.
The case is closely watched by other tech companies that rely on independent contractors for labor. An employee designation would mean a guaranteed minimum wage for Uber drivers, mileage compensation, and Social Security benefits. Lyft, another e-hailing service, faces a similar lawsuit.
DOUGLAS O’CONNOR, et al., Plaintiffs, v. UBER TECHNOLOGIES, INC., et al., Defendants.
Guests:
David Plouffe, Senior Advisor at Uber. He was the campaign manager for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign
Caroline Fredrickson, labor attorney, president of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy and author of "Under The Bus: How Working Women Are Being Run Over"
Harry Campbell, a driver for Uber and Lyft and runs “TheRideShareGuy.com”