Michael J. Davey, Esq. mdavey@eckellsparks.com 610.565.3700

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Federal Judge Allows Uber Drivers to Sue as a Class

Yesterday, Judge Edward Chen of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California partially certified a class of potentially thousands of Uber Drivers in a wage and hour suit where four plaintiffs—all current or former drivers for Uber—claimed that they were misclassified as independent contractors and were not permitted to keep all tips given to them by customers. Full story here: Uber Drivers' Labor Lawsuit Granted Class Action Status in California.

This case (although on a large scale), coupled with the recent Administrator's Interpretation by the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division that declares "most workers are employees," under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, illustrates the importance of making sure workers are properly classified as employees or independent contractors, depending upon their job duties, responsibilities, and the level of control over them exercised by the business. 

Are your workers properly classified? When was the last time you engaged in a full-spectrum classification review of all workers? Given the potential liabilities at stake, you might want to be "Uber" sure. 

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