Judge expands scope of Uber lawsuit

Uber controls everything portal to portal., the money, the app itself, the hiring/firing/rehiring, rating scales, policy and procedures, purchasing “app ” insurance for the drivers and their vehicles.

Judge Edward Chen in September ruled to allow the case to proceed as a class-action suit, but said drivers could only participate in the case if they joined Uber before June 2014, the date when it modified employment contracts for new drivers that meant they had to agree to arbitration in the event of a dispute.

The case originally was brought against Uber by former drivers who believed that despite being classified as independent contractors, Uber treated them as employees, without any of the benefits such as overtime, expense reimbursements and Social Security payments.

The outcome of the case, which is due to be heard by a jury next summer, could pose serious challenges for Uber’s business model, with the consequences potentially spreading to the wider on-demand economy.

Shannon Liss-Riordan, attorney for the drivers, applauded the decision, calling it a “significant ruling”.

Uber said it will appeal the district court’s decision “immediately”. The earlier ruling would have reduced the number of drivers in the class to fewer than 15,000 from the initial projections of 160,000, according to an Uber blog post.

The judge also ruled that the class could pursue and seek expenses related to operating their vehicle in conjunction with driving for Uber, as well as phone expenses. The company has said most of its drivers were hired in the last two years.

Uber says that its drivers are freewheeling agents, able to set their schedules and hours as they choose. It was not clear how many more drivers would be eligible to join the suit after the ruling.

Legal experts have said if drivers who have been denied mileage reimbursement by the company can seek as much as 57 1/2 cents a mile going back to 2009, Uber’s potential exposure would increase sharply, possibly by hundreds of millions of dollars.

After Chen ruled that that was a bunch of baloney, Uber argued that the class should be limited to drivers who did not accept arbitration agreements when first signing up to work for the company, radically diminishing the size of the class in the suit.