Jon Weinberg is a student at Harvard Law School.
In a major ruling today, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen allowed a lawsuit by California Uber drivers seeking employee status to proceed as a class action. Forbes summarized the ruling and its significance:
Tuesday’s ruling means that Uber drivers, as a group, can now challenge the company on their main complaint: that they are actually employees of Uber and therefore should be allowed to move forward with their claim that they are entitled to tips. The judge held off on granting class-certification related to other expenses like gas and vehicle maintenance, though that could change in the future. The decision applies to California drivers on UberX and UberBlack who joined before June 2014, so does not apply to drivers who work for a third-party company or newer drivers.
According to CNET, Judge Chen’s decision was not expected for months. The case will be tried before a jury next year, and given the class action status it has the potential to upend Uber’s business model. Stay tuned to OnLabor’s coverage of the gig economy for more on the suit and other news surrounding the classification of gig economy workers.
Daily News & Commentary
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March 13
Republican Senators urge changes on OSHA heat standard; OpenAI and building trades announce partnership on data center construction; forced labor investigations could lead to new tariffs
March 12
EPA terminates contract with second-largest union; Florida advances bill restricting public sector unions; Trump administration seeks Supreme Court assistance in TPS termination.
March 11
The partial government shutdown results in TSA agents losing their first full paycheck; the Fifth Circuit upholds the certification of a class of former United Airline workers who were placed on unpaid leave for declining to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for religious reasons during the pandemic; and an academic group files a lawsuit against the State Department over a policy that revokes and denies visas to noncitizens for their work in fact-checking and content moderation.
March 10
Court rules Kari Lake unlawfully led USAGM, voiding mass layoffs; Florida Senate passes bill tightening union recertification rules; Fifth Circuit revives whistleblower suit against Lockheed Martin.
March 9
6th Circuit rejects Cemex, Board may overrule precedents with two members.
March 8
In today’s news and commentary, a weak jobs report, the NIH decides it will no longer recognize a research fellows’ union, and WNBA contract talks continue to stall as season approaches. On Friday, the Labor Department reported that employers cut 92,000 jobs in February while the unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.4 percent. A loss […]