Are Uber, Lyft drivers employees or independent contractors? Juries will decide

Should drivers for on-demand ride services Uber and Lyft be classified as employees or independent contractors?  Two federal judges in California have ruled that a jury must decide.  

Both Uber and Lyft have operated on the assumption that the drivers are independent contractors, but some drivers say that's misclassification under California law.  They filed lawsuits against both companies, and are now seeking class action status.  

The drivers' attorney in both cases, Shannon Liss-Riordan says as employees, the drivers would be reimbursed for expenses.

"Right now, they have to pay for gas, they have to pay for car maintenance," Liss-Riordan told KPCC.  "They don’t get protection for things like unemployment or workers comp, or even guaranteed minimum wage or overtime."

She adds that by classifying drivers as independent contractors, both companies are saving a lot of money.

"Part of the reason that Uber is being valued at $40 billion right now is that so far, it's gotten away with not playing by the rules."

Both companies declined comment on pending litigation. In asking the court for summary judgments, they have maintained that they are merely providing a platform to the drivers to offer their services to customers, not to the company.  They also argue they assert little control over the drivers and that drivers enjoy flexibility, and therefore the drivers' independent contractor status is valid.   

In denying summary judgments, the judges in both cases said that because drivers are providing a service to the company, they are "presumed" employees. In the Uber case, Edward Chen wrote that the company "would not be a viable business entity without its drivers.”   In the Lyft case, Vince Chhabria pointed out that the company instructs the drivers to do a number of things: 

For the drivers who filed the lawsuits, it's a small victory that the jury gets handed the peg at all.