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.
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April 18
Disneyland performers file petition for unionization and union elections begin at Volkswagen plant in Tennessee.
April 18
In today’s Tech@Work, a regulation-of-algorithms-in-hiring blitz: Mass. AG issues advisory clarifying how state laws apply to AI decisionmaking tools; and British union TUC launches campaign for new law to regulate the use of AI at work.
April 17
Southern governors oppose UAW organizing in their states; Florida bans local heat protections for workers; Google employees occupy company offices to protest contracts with the Israeli government
April 16
EEOC publishes final regulation implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Volkswagen workers in Tennessee gear up for a union election, and the First Circuit revives the Whole Foods case over BLM masks.
April 15
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of bakery delivery drivers in an exemption from mandatory arbitration case; A Teamsters Local ends its 18-month strike by accepting settlement payments and agreeing to dissolve
April 14
SAG-AFTRA wins AI protections; DeSantis signs Florida bill preempting local employment regulation; NLRB judge says Whole Foods subpoenas violate federal labor law.