Skip to main content

California Attorney General (& Several City Attorneys) Sue Uber & Lyft Over Alleged Misclassification


Yesterday, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, joined by city attorneys from San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, filed suit against Uber & Lyft on the grounds that the companies misclassified its workers as independent contractors thereby denying them minimum wage, overtime pay, and other benefits.

Readers might recall that this whole brouhaha came about when the Dynamex decision was issued by the California Supreme Court a few years ago.  That case established the ABC Test to determine whether a worker was an independent contractor or an employee.  Unfortunately for employers in the state, the ABC Test made it easier to determine that a worker was an employee.  Sensing this ABC Test could be challenged (and eventually overturned in court), the California Legislature introduced Assembly Bill 5 (aka AB 5) to codify the ABC Test.  When the California Legislature passed AB 5 and Governor Gavin Newsom signed it into law, there was immediate opposition.

Let us call this lawsuit by the California Attorney General another stop in the ongoing battle amongst workers in the state and employers, namely gig companies.  The lawsuit alleges that Uber & Lyft misclassified its workers as independent contractors in violation of AB 5.  The lawsuit seeks an injunction on the misclassification and restitution on behalf of the workers that were allegedly misclassified.

Keep an eye on this one.


For additional information:  https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/05/05/california-ag-cities-sue-uber-and-lyft-over-worker-classification.html?__twitter_impression=true

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Breaking: Labor Secretary Rumored to Be Leaving Administration

A few hours ago, word leaked out that Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (“Walsh”) is in the midst of negotiations to head up the NHL Players Union and leave his position at the Labor Department. Walsh, who has served as the sole Labor Secretary under President Biden, has taken part in a labor renaissance of sorts as support for organized labor has increased during his term as Labor Secretary (although the number of workers that have joined a union over the past two years has not grown as mush as some expected.)  He has also overseen the ongoing negotiations with rail workers over a new contract, although that matter is still on shaky ground and playing out as we speak. As for who might step into the vacant Labor Secretary role, there are already rumblings that President Biden should nominate Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su (a strong labor advocate) or even a progressive like Senator Bernie Sanders.  Until Walsh officially gives his notice, however, I would expect some/many potential...
Post a Comment
Read more

San Diego Rolls Back Vaccine Mandate For City Workers

Last Tuesday, the San Diego City Council voted to do away with the vaccine mandate for city employees. The city’s vaccine mandate that was in place required city workers to get the coronavirus vaccine or risk termination.  Perhaps to this surprise of no one, the city’s policy came under fire with 14 employees being terminated and over 100 other employees resigning.  With the coronavirus subsiding, including in Southern California, the San Diego City Council took action. Now, bear in mind, the repeal of the vaccine mandate does not take place immediately. With that being said, the mandate will be repealed March 8th.  I suppose the question now is, what other cities or regions follow San Diego’s lead? For additional information:   https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2023-01-24/san-diego-repeals-controversial-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-citing-drop-in-cases-hospitalizations
Post a Comment
Read more