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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jun/17/uber-drivers-are-employees-not-contractors-in-california-ruling
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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Uber drivers are employees not contractors, California rules | Uber drivers are employees not contractors, California rules |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Uber has appealed a California labor commission ruling that declared employees of the ride-sharing company are employees and not contractors. | Uber has appealed a California labor commission ruling that declared employees of the ride-sharing company are employees and not contractors. |
| In its ruling, the California labor commissioner said Uber is “involved in every aspect of the operation”, negating the company’s longstanding claim that its drivers are contractors. | In its ruling, the California labor commissioner said Uber is “involved in every aspect of the operation”, negating the company’s longstanding claim that its drivers are contractors. |
| The decision appears to imply that Uber is in reality a transport operator and could have a significant impact on its business model. The company had argued that drivers were contractors, with Uber acting as a logistics software company. | The decision appears to imply that Uber is in reality a transport operator and could have a significant impact on its business model. The company had argued that drivers were contractors, with Uber acting as a logistics software company. |
| If Uber drivers are employees, that opens Uber up to higher costs, including Social Security, workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance. That could affect its valuation, currently above $40 billion, and the valuation of other companies that rely on large networks of individuals to provide rides, clean houses and other services. | If Uber drivers are employees, that opens Uber up to higher costs, including Social Security, workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance. That could affect its valuation, currently above $40 billion, and the valuation of other companies that rely on large networks of individuals to provide rides, clean houses and other services. |
| But the commission said Uber controls the tools driver use, monitors their approval ratings and terminates their access to the system if their ratings fall below 4.6 stars. | But the commission said Uber controls the tools driver use, monitors their approval ratings and terminates their access to the system if their ratings fall below 4.6 stars. |
| The company had appealed the commission’s decision to award Barbara Ann Berwick, an Uber driver in San Francisco, more than $4,000 in expenses. | The company had appealed the commission’s decision to award Barbara Ann Berwick, an Uber driver in San Francisco, more than $4,000 in expenses. |
| The ruling was issued earlier this month and came to light when Uber filed its appeal in state court in San Francisco on Tuesday evening. | The ruling was issued earlier this month and came to light when Uber filed its appeal in state court in San Francisco on Tuesday evening. |
| Uber supporters argued the ruling could have a negative impact on other so-called sharing economy companies that also use private contractors. | |
| “This ruling will have a chilling effect on the entire sharing economy,” said Berin Szoka, President of libertarian think tank TechFreedom. “The independent-contractor business model helped drive the success of Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, and other sharing-economy companies. The commission’s ruling could force sharing-economy companies to scale back their offerings and increase prices, which could also rob consumers of the flexibility and broad range of choices currently offered by these companies.” | |
| Reuters contributed to this report | Reuters contributed to this report |