Limo Firm To Uber: You Misclassify Your Drivers As Contractors, Which Is Unfair (arstechnica.com) 69
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: A Southern California limousine company sued Uber in federal court earlier this week, alleging violations of state unfair-competition laws. While a company suing Uber is not new, the proposed class-action lawsuit appears to rely on a recently decided California Supreme Court decision that makes it more difficult for companies to unilaterally declare their workers as contractors, which effectively deprives them of benefits that they would otherwise receive as employees.
In that case, known as Dynamex, the court came up with a three-part test to figure out whether companies can assert contractor status or not. The new case is called Diva Limousine v. Uber. Some legal experts say that the earlier decision in Dynamex may bolster an argument in this new case around unfair competition that has previously been difficult to win on in federal court. In short, Diva Limousine just might succeed where other federal lawsuits have failed.
In that case, known as Dynamex, the court came up with a three-part test to figure out whether companies can assert contractor status or not. The new case is called Diva Limousine v. Uber. Some legal experts say that the earlier decision in Dynamex may bolster an argument in this new case around unfair competition that has previously been difficult to win on in federal court. In short, Diva Limousine just might succeed where other federal lawsuits have failed.
This did not work out Well For Microsoft Either (Score:3)
or Fedex...
<a href="https://www.oasisadvantage.com/blog/risky-business-misclassifying-workers-may-be-more-costly-than-ever"> risky businessnmisclassifying workers may be more-costly-than-ever </a>
or Mears Limousine
<a href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-mears-lawsuit-settlement-20180905-story.html">Mears settles lawsuit with hundreds of chauffeurs who claim they were underpaid </a>
or Apple
<a href="http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/217738/employee+rights+labour+relations/Staffing+Agencies+Using+Independent+Contractors+Face+Misclassification+Liability+And+Expose+Clients+To+Undue+Risks">Staffing Agencies Using Independent Contractors Face Misclassification Liability And Expose Clients To Undue Risks </a>
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Looks fine to me, check what your posting it as (drop down next to Preview button)?
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It;s been ages since I posted a comment here - thanks
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Contract the html out.
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Somehow your less-than and greater-than delimiters were posted as their character-entity-reference equivalents in html (e.g., ampersand-lt-semicolon for less-than.) I saw this by examining the "quote parent" text. Not sure how it happened, but the relevant keys on my keyboard appear to work fine for me.
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sigh.... why me can no do html any more :(
Upper right: Click username-account-Posting-Comment Post Mode
I usually set Plain Old Text so I don't have to deal with line breaks.
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I used to be able to bold text directly, without changing any settings.
This must be a new change.
I could also include links, like this one to Slashdot [slashdot.org], but not as an AC.
I *never* worried about line breaks, either.
Re: This did not work out Well For Microsoft Eithe (Score:2)
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The fact that other employers lost their cases has almost no bearing on this case. In a lawsuit, specifics matter. In this case, everything depends on exactly what business Uber is *really* in.
Uber's position amounts to this: it is NOT in the business of providing rides, it's just mediating a transaction between people who need rides and people who are willing to provide rides. Were that true, the drivers would be contractors. But their actions contradict that position in a number of ways.
First, Uber set
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Good (Score:1)
Deliberately mis-classifying people as contractors is one of the biggest scams perpetrated on workers.
There should be an even simpler test:
If you're doing something, on a regular basis, that is part of a company's core business, you're an employee, not a contractor
Uber's business is providing rides. If you're a driver providing rides, you're an employee.
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That's step A) of California's test. I find that argument impossible to argue with, but I'm not a bribed politician.
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This story is a RRSM (regularly recurring Slashdot meme), so lets get some facts straight. The IRS publishes a 20 point checklist to determine if someone should be an employee or contractor.
Every time this story comes up (about once a month) we get people claiming that ONE of those criteria is all that matters. This is nonsense. You need to look at all 20, and even then it isn't always clear.
There is also often an assumption that it is always "better" to be classified as an employee, and that Uber is scr
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And a Court in Great Britain said ...
A court ruling in the UK has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on whether Uber drivers are contractors or employees in Southern California.
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But it was touted as a "ride-sharing" app. It's not sharing, it's selling
It's enabling a market to exist that's unfeasible without them (selling rides on an individual basis wasn't really possible before their app). Just like short term room rentals (outside of hotels) wasn't possible without Airbnb.
These companies aren't being clever, they are openly flouting regulation.
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If the drivers were able to price their own rides and market their own brand through the app, then you'd have a point. If they're taking the prices they're told and are treated as "an uber" rather than "BillyBob's Ride Co", then they're employees. Guess which one it is?
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I know plenty of people with 2 jobs. Sometimes at competitors. They're still employees.
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Re: Good (Score:1)
Uhh, bullshit.
If you pick your hours and bring your own tools, you're a contractor. If you show up on your employers hours and use his tools, You're an employee. If you can turn down tasks, you're a contractor, if you have to accept tasks, you're an employee.
Uber is a shifty company, but their drivers are clearly contractors. They bring their own vehicle, they pick their hours, and they can turn down fares. They're clearly contractors. Limo drivers, on the other hand, work,when they're told to, drive the co
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Employees don't work for 2 firms, generally (Score:1, Troll)
In general, employees don't get to choose to work for two firms doing the identical job, nor can they generally choose their own hours.
I'm not sure how the California Supreme Court came to its decisions. Maybe they used the same decision making process they used when they determined coffee causes cancer?
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Second, it's pretty clear from those who have worked at Uber when they decide to "choose their own hours" they somehow don't get as many customers
Is that clear? I can believe it happens, but what sort of algorithm is Uber using here? Anyone working less than 10 hours a day gets lower priority?
private cause of action??? (Score:2)
I don't know much about CA law, but not all statutory violations give rise to a private cause of action in civil court. Does the CA's "unfair labor" laws allow this? I wouldn't be surprised if this one gets thrown out.
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Veena Dubal, a law professor at the University of California, Hastings, emailed Ars. "It seems to raise the same arguments re: unfair competition that have been raised by many cases before it. Misclassification is a sub-issue in this case. If another court finds conclusively that Uber drivers are misclassified for wage purposes, then it will become relevant."
Re: private cause of action??? (Score:2)
As an engineer, I like contracting (Score:3, Interesting)
I find it way preferable to take contract gigs than FTE (full time employee) gigs. Granted, the FTE gigs typically offer an order of magnitude more pay, but all that stock/equity is inevitably tied up in a year or more of service. But as a contractor, you get paid exactly for the hours you put it and can leave whenever you want. They may not let you go to the employee movie days, but I've always had the nicest bosses as a contractor (probably because they're good bosses, but they're also aware senior contractors can walk if treated very poorly).
Best of all, the IP agreements are actually sane because you're not an employee. I hate when FTE contracts try to claim all of your side projects as the company's inventions, sometimes even retroactively.
Anyway, I know that contracting isn't a good fit for everyone, but I hope this doesn't end make up making it harder for those who do like the contract lifestyle.
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Degree of control (Score:3)
who sets the hours
who sets the specific tasks and how they will be done
freedom to work for other people
who provides the office and equipment
Uber drivers have complete freedom in all those thing except the specific tasks (even then, they could chose the route). Most of the "contractors" I know in high tech fail all those tests.
Lack of compensation. (Score:2)
An employee has very little control of what they do. In Canada the measure of employee vs contractor considers:
who sets the hours
who sets the specific tasks and how they will be done
freedom to work for other people
who provides the office and equipment
Uber drivers have complete freedom in all those thing except the specific tasks (even then, they could chose the route). Most of the "contractors" I know in high tech fail all those tests.
Contractors also receive significantly higher pay to compensate for the lack job security and beneifts like paid holidays and sick days afforded to salaried workers. They're also paid significantly more as they have to pay their own tax in most countries unless the employer and contractor agree to have the employer pay tax on their behalf. That's where the contractor argument falls down for Uber. They want to pay them like min wage slaves... but treat them as if they were highly paid contractors.
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Contractors (at least with my experience in computer consulting in the mid-2000's) in Canada also aren't permitted to stay with a specific company for longer than 39 weeks at a time. It doesn't matter if it's with one or more contracts. They must then be away for at least 13 weeks before going back.
This is only true with the private sector. With the federal government for some reason I've seen people sign 5 year contracts and be at the same position for over 20 years as a contractor with no breaks on the co
I'm Rich! (Score:2)
1) Hire cab.
2) Claim driver is now my employee, since they cannot be contracting out rides.
3) Fire driver, sell company cab assets.
4) Profiteering!
Working for Uber = You are a Full Time Employee? (Score:1)
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Not every limo is a stretch limo driving partying teenagers to their prom. Some are simply nice cars taking you from the airport to your hotel, for which Uber would be considered competition.
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Not every limo is a stretch limo driving partying teenagers to their prom. Some are simply nice cars taking you from the airport to your hotel, for which Uber would be considered competition.
In English (and almost all other languages), a limousine is a stretched car. It's only in German that limousine means sedan [wikipedia.org], not sure why they got that so badly wrong but they sure did.
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Not every limo is a stretch limo driving partying teenagers to their prom. Some are simply nice cars taking you from the airport to your hotel, for which Uber would be considered competition.
In English (and almost all other languages), a limousine is a stretched car. It's only in German that limousine means sedan [wikipedia.org], not sure why they got that so badly wrong but they sure did.
From the same article:
"In the U.S., Canada and Australia, 'limousine service' (also known as 'car service') is the process of pre-booked hire of any car with a driver. The car is usually a luxury car, but not necessarily a limousine."
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I live in the U.S. While most people would define a limousine as "a stretched car", they would also include limousine service as nearly any taxi-like service that isn't in a marked taxi. I've gotten several pickups to/from airports advertised as "limousine service" and its almost always a luxury car or SUV, not a 30 foot stretch vehicle with a sunroof and wet bar.
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https://youtu.be/ffgTKltQtQg (Score:1)