Benjamin Sachs is the Kestnbaum Professor of Labor and Industry at Harvard Law School and a leading expert in the field of labor law and labor relations. He is also faculty director of the Center for Labor and a Just Economy. Professor Sachs teaches courses in labor law, employment law, and law and social change, and his writing focuses on union organizing and unions in American politics. Prior to joining the Harvard faculty in 2008, Professor Sachs was the Joseph Goldstein Fellow at Yale Law School. From 2002-2006, he served as Assistant General Counsel of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in Washington, D.C. Professor Sachs graduated from Yale Law School in 1998, and served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Stephen Reinhardt of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. His writing has appeared in the Harvard Law Review, the Yale Law Journal, the Columbia Law Review, the New York Times and elsewhere. Professor Sachs received the Yale Law School teaching award in 2007 and in 2013 received the Sacks-Freund Award for Teaching Excellence at Harvard Law School. He can be reached at [email protected].
There are two ways to think about whether a settlement is a good deal from the perspective of the plaintiffs. One is whether, in light of all the facts and law relevant to the particular litigation, plaintiffs’ attorneys got as much for their clients as they could. No one, other than those intimately familiar with the case, can assess that question perfectly. The second is whether the settlement amounts to progress for the plaintiffs from a broader, less litigation-specific perspective. Here, outside observers can have more to say.
It will take time to fully digest the Uber settlement, announced today, but a few things seem clear. First, Uber prevailed on what is, by far, the most important issue. The primary question in this case, and the one with the greatest practical relevance, is whether whether Uber drivers can continue to be misclassified as independent contractors or will be treated as employees. As Uber proudly announced today, “Drivers will remain independent contractors, not employees.” Uber drivers did secure some genuine benefits. There are financial payments to the drivers (up to $8000 for those that drove the most; less for those who drive less), and drivers can now inform passengers that tips can be accepted. There are also some improvements to how and when drivers can be deactivated. And Uber has also agreed to help establish a drivers “association.”
These are real gains even though, in my view, they pale in comparison to what the settlement allows Uber to do. There are also some important questions about the gains. What will it mean, in practice, that Uber can temporarily log drivers out of the app without the ability to accept new requests, but not deactivate them? Given how baked into the Uber experience the “no tipping” rule is, can we expect postings – informing passengers they can tip – to have much effect? And labor lawyers will wonder whether a drivers’ association that has any teeth can be established consistent with § 8(a)(2) or antitrust law. It may well be doable, but will require some real work.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers, and the drivers who fought with them, deserve credit for moving the ball forward. Looking beyond this litigation, we might turn our attention to the NLRB. Recently, the Board’s general counsel announced his position that employee misclassifaction may be an unfair labor practice. We’ll keep tabs as the charges start to flow.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
June 9
SoFi Stadium workers authorize a strike ahead of the World Cup; the NLRB finds Starbucks violated labor law; Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee is struck down.
June 8
BLS releases May jobs reports; US Trade Representative proposes new tariffs.
June 7
SAG-AFTRA members ratify a four-year CBA and the International Trade Union Confederation releases its 2026 Global Rights Index.
June 4
Third Circuit tosses DOL’s $35.8 million healthcare wage award; Trump’s Republican NLRB nominee gets Senate hearing; Harvard graduate students end strike.
June 3
JOLTS data shows mixed labor market as personal income declines; New York Fed research links remote work to rising youth unemployment; Virginia Governor Spanberger signs sweeping employment reform package.
June 2
Illinois passes rideshare driver unionization bill; DOL issues new union financial reporting rule; unions push back against AI data center regulations.