FORBES: Case alleges drivers for rideshare companies are employees, not contractors.
FORBES: Case alleges drivers for rideshare companies are employees, not contractors.
The drivers claim that because they are told how much they can charge and risk being fired if they don’t obey certain rules, they should be considered employees. But Uber and Lyft argue that drivers have many freedoms that typical employees don’t, like the ability to set their own hours or work as often or as little as they like.
If the jury finds that the drivers are employees, Uber’s and Lyft’s business models will be severely shaken. Both companies rely heavily on the independent contractor model to provide a cheap workforce that drives around customers. And the ruling would also undercut many of the other startups in the on-demand economy who use independent contractors to do everything from laundry to food delivery but don’t want to pay labor costs like health insurance. On-demand housecleaning service Handybook faces a similar worker misclassification lawsuit.
