STATE AG SUES UBER, LYFT OVER STATUS
California says drivers have been illegally classified as contractors
California sued Uber and Lyft on Tuesday, alleging that the ride-hailing companies have illegally treated their drivers as independent contractors, depriving them of worker protections and benefits such as minimum wage and unemployment insurance.
The lawsuit, brought by state Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the city attorneys of San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco, seeks restitution for unpaid wages it says are owed to drivers, and it requests that the court force the companies to immediately classify their drivers as employees.
Filed in San Francisco Superior Court, the suit also alleges that by classifying the drivers as independent contractors, the companies have failed to pay state and local payroll taxes that are used to fund welfare programs.
Lyft said in a statement that it is “looking forward to working with the Attorney General and mayors across the state to bring all the benefits of California’s innovation economy to as many workers as possible, especially during this time when the creation of good jobs with access to affordable healthcare and other benefits is more important than ever.”
Uber, also alluding to the high unemployment caused by the coronavirus crisis, indicated clearly that it will fight the lawsuit. “We need to make it easier, not harder, for people to quickly start earning. We will contest this action in court, while at the same time pushing to raise the standard of independent work for drivers in California, including with guaranteed minimum earnings and new benefits,” a com
•