{"id":3750,"date":"2015-10-21T12:00:43","date_gmt":"2015-10-21T16:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ncjolt.org\/?p=3750"},"modified":"2020-06-04T20:53:33","modified_gmt":"2020-06-04T20:53:33","slug":"uber-wins-favorable-ruling-in-great-britain-still-in-legal-crosshairs-in-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/blogs\/uber-wins-favorable-ruling-in-great-britain-still-in-legal-crosshairs-in-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Uber Wins Favorable Ruling in Great Britain, Still in Legal Crosshairs in US"},"content":{"rendered":"

The ride-sharing application Uber, immensely successful across the United States and Europe, has revolutionized the sharing economy popular with Millenials, and anyone looking to circumvent traditional institutions like hotels, and taxis.
\nUber made its mark by hiring drivers who use their own equipment and tools, and who operate as \u201cindependent contractors<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 Employing a fleet of independent drivers ensures low prices for consumers, because drivers \u201cuse their own vehicles on their own schedules,\u201d and are responsible for gas and vehicle maintenance, including their own insurance.\u00a0 Uber\u2019s classification of its drivers has precluded the company from the legal morass of labor and employment regulations, which have instead hampered Uber\u2019s taxi competitors.\u00a0 Conventional taxi companies formally hire workers and adhere to employment laws, and provide drivers with appropriate pay and benefits.\u00a0\u00a0 Uber is unencumbered by similar regulations concerning its independent drivers.
\nFurthermore, under current regulations Uber is characterized as a technology company, operating a ride-sharing application through users\u2019 smartphones, whereas taxis constitute transportation companies subject to a different, comprehensive regulatory scheme.\u00a0 Due in part to this characterization, Uber has avoided the heavy regulation of taxis.\u00a0 In addition, under the auspices of its technology application status, Uber is reportedly considering launching future business endeavors run through its popular application, including a local grocery delivery service.\u00a0 These business plans will be forestalled if Uber\u2019s drivers are classified as employees, or if it loses its regulatory categorization as a technology application.
\nA class action against Uber in California has threatened Uber\u2019s claim that its drivers are independent contractors, but similar litigation in Great Britain, resulted in a ruling underscoring Uber\u2019s characterization as a technology application, distancing it from transportation companies.\u00a0 As these cases demonstrate, Uber faces an uncertain, shifting regulatory future.
\nFirst, in September, Federal Judge Edward Chen<\/a> of the Northern District of California granted class status to Uber drivers in the latest stage of O\u2019Connor v. Uber Technologies, Inc. et al.,<\/a> allowing the case against Uber to move forward as a class action.\u00a0 O\u2019Connor<\/em> will test Uber\u2019s assertion that its contracting drivers do not qualify as employees.\u00a0 Uber\u2019s amalgamation of \u201cindependent contractor\u201d drivers is the heart of its profitability, and meteoric economic rise.\u00a0 Judge Chen\u2019s certification of plaintiffs as a class constitutes an initial blow to Uber, who argued its drivers preferred to retain their independent status.\u00a0 Furthermore, affirmative class status in O\u2019Connor <\/em>has precedential value for Lyft, an Uber competitor in the midst of similar litigation.
\nAdditionally, in August the California Employment Development Department ruled that Uber owed one of its drivers unemployment benefits.\u00a0 The California Office found dispositive evidence of the \u201c\u2019employer\/employee relationship<\/a>\u201d between Uber and the driver, and Uber displayed indicia of control in the \u201cmeans in which these services were provided.\u201d\u00a0 In addition to this ruling, the California Labor Commission ordered in June that Uber reimburse its former driver, and claimant, Barbara Berwick for expenses she incurred, and that Berwick should have been treated at the time of her claim as an Uber employee.
\nStill other state agencies around the nation have found in favor, and against Uber in regulatory employment questions. \u00a0Although precedential value of these agency rulings is negligible, the varying decisions reflect the uncertainty surrounding Uber\u2019s central assertion:\u00a0 that its drivers are not employees eligible for certain benefits, or reimbursements for vehicle maintenance.\u00a0 Chen\u2019s ruling that Uber employees qualified for class certification moved the O\u2019Connor <\/em>case a step closer to a jury decision on Uber\u2019s business model.
\nIn Great Britain, however, Judge Duncan Ouseley<\/a> issued a ruling which affirmatively distinguished Uber from London\u2019s taxi cab providers.\u00a0 The ruling saved Uber from being legally shut out of the London market, where it enjoys tremendous success.\u00a0 Ouseley ruled that Uber\u2019s application was not sufficiently similar to a taxi cab meter, which by law may only be operated by \u201cLondon\u2019s black cabs<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 Rather, Ouseley ruled,<\/p>\n

\u201cthe company\u2019s services relied on geospatial data and other technology outside its drivers\u2019 cars to calculate the cost of each ride.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 
\nUber\u2019s legal distance from existing taxi companies is important for its regulatory classification as a technology application, and will work in its favor as it faces pending cases in Europe.\u00a0 Still, Ouseley\u2019s ruling underscores Uber\u2019s key regulatory distinction from taxi companies, amid the onslaught of litigation plaguing the ride-sharing application.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The ride-sharing application Uber, immensely successful across the United States and Europe, has revolutionized the sharing economy popular with Millenials, and anyone looking to circumvent traditional institutions like hotels, and taxis. Uber made its mark by hiring drivers who use their own equipment and tools, and who operate as \u201cindependent contractors.\u201d\u00a0 Employing a fleet of …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3752,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[51],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3750"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3750"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7275,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3750\/revisions\/7275"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}