The core of the ruling is that a driver in Uber must be treated as an employee and not as a contractor unlike what the company has been describing. In Pennsylvania, drivers must have licenses for the weapons, but that is not the case for Tennessee.
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The question of employment classification is a hot issue for ride-sharing companies after a California Labor Commission ruling filed this week found that a single Uber driver was an employee, not a contractor. But Uber is taking comfort that the ruling is just limited to the driver mentioned in the dispute.
“The writing is on the wall for Uber that it has been trying to push its labor costs on drivers”, she says. But this does not mean that they can ignore labor laws which protect workers’ rights.
The latest twist in France complicates Uber’s operations, which have faced issues in practically every European country where it is present, including Portugal, Belgium and Germany.
San Francisco-based Uber lets passengers summon cars through an app in more than 250 cities worldwide and the privately-held company is valued at around 40 billion dollars (£25.3bn).
In a ruling that has sent ripples through California’s growing on-demand economy, a state body said an Uber driver is an employee, not a contractor as the company maintains.
Whether workers are employees or independent contractors is often a gray area. Details of the earlier action emerged when Uber moved to appeal the commission’s decision handed down in March. Uber refused to pay the sum, insisting that its drivers are contractors, so they’re responsible for vehicle maintenance, fuel, and other costs.
“You might say that this is hyperbole, but it is true”, said Michael Allegretti, who works for Uber New York.
Uber has vociferously argued that it merely acts as a facilitator for its drivers, who pick up fares through the company’s smartphone app and work on their own schedule. In California, the CLC disagreed, arguing that Uber has a great deal of control over its drivers and the equipment they use, and that the company frequently terminates workers if they fail to meet high customer satisfaction standards.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the decision was the result of a lawsuit filed by a driver who worked for Uber for a few months previous year. Unless, of course, Uber believes that day is coming and starts increasing prices to cushion the blow when it does.
“The courts would be less prone to see it as a business because people have cars anyway”, he says. “I would expect them to leave California rather than comply”.
There is not a USA federal law that addresses gun carrying in vehicles.
Uber is the world’s largest ride sharing service. So lately he’s been driving for Uber.
“Assuming it’s upheld on appeal, it may be more than influential”, said Thomas Wassel, a partner at Cullen and Dykman.
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Rising legal bills, more-contentious driver relations and a less-profitable business model could dampen the company’s valuation if it seeks to go public. But he said the extra income is helpful while he looks for something more permanent. Like many drawn to Southern California, he wants to make it big in Hollywood.
