RIDEGURU
Hi everyone,
I’ve been seeing these lawsuit topics pop up on Facebook and in my email regarding some wages legalities concerning ride share drivers being contractors but there being some issues of compensation, overtime, and benefits that might be owed to us. I just wanted to get my fellow drivers’ thoughts on the issue and if you’ve done anything.
One of the ads on Facebook was for Zimmerman Reed LLC. And they’re asking for 40% of the total which seems steep to me.
What do you think?
Comments
Zimmerman Reed is the company that was running a class action suit against Uber on the "Hell" software, which was a spyware that was tracking Lyft usage on people's phones.
Oh, it looks like Uber won. https://www.law.com/therecorder/2018/09/27/judge-hands-uber-win-in-lyft-drivers-suit-over-hacked-mobile-app/?slreturn=20190101165626
I haven't heard the recent updates on the "employee or contractor" discussion. There are many other lawsuits happening around this, so I would be careful of jumping into talking with lawyers without doing some research first. Remember many bodily injury law firms are ambulance chasers and are always looking for a fight.
The criteria to determine if you are an employee or a contractor is outlined by IRS. However, this is often argued as the terms are somewhat subjective.
https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/independent-contractor-self-employed-or-employee
If you are speaking of the O'Connor v. Uber case, the judges have ruled in favor of Uber, where drivers were deemed as contractors rather than employees.
Remember that these decisions are a state-level discussion so how these decisions affect will depend on where you reside. Also, it's worth noting that there will always be appeals and different cases around this topic, so it will be very fluid for a while.
I would be careful about jumping into these law firms' discussions. I don't think there are any harm in speaking to them, but make sure to do your own due diligence, especially if they are looking for a cut of the settlement. Often, you are entitled to a settlement directly from Uber.
I thought California decided that we were all employees.
Did you see this? It's basically the settlement from Uber on underpaying us and treating us like contractors. $0.11 a mile (since 2013), and they've been reaching out to drivers.
https://ride.guru/lounge/p/would-you-settle-with-uber-for-011-a-mile
The rulings of all these do depend on the state you are in. In California, there was a big case where the court ruled in favor of the drivers, i.e. drivers should be treated as employees and more benefits are given.
Wait so drivers are getting $0.11 back for every mile they have driven since 2013? Did you have to sign up somewhere for this?
No they reach out to you. Invite only.
It may only be in CA.
Any law firm reaching out to you are scammers. They may be a real law firm, but you know they are all in it to make a buck.