Risk of the Sharing Economy for Insurance Companies
Episode 13: NYC's New Freelancer Protection Law And The Future Of The On-Demand Economy
Post-Election Predictions: What the Hospitality Industry Can Expect in 2017
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Ninth Circuit, following the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, has upheld the validity of class-action waivers in Uber’s arbitration agreement, and has held that a named...more
As part of our quarterly series on current trends across different industries, our second article takes a closer look at the sharing economy and how this new economic model impacts suppliers, customers and platform providers...more
In a recent classification case involving the “gig” or shared economy, a U.S. magistrate judge handed down a significant win for Grubhub, concluding that a driver who sued the company under California’s minimum wage, overtime...more
There were newsworthy developments in a number of cases in the area of independent contractor misclassification during the month of October. Those cases were brought against companies in an array of different industries...more
Last week, the lawyers representing drivers who have sued Uber in California commenced another lawsuit on behalf of drivers alleging that Uber misclassified them as independent contractors instead of employees. This lawsuit,...more
The past month included significant state and federal appellate court decisions, large settlements of IC misclassification class actions, class and collective action certifications, and two IC misclassification class actions...more
Late last week, a federal court judge in California approved a settlement agreement whereby ride-sharing company Lyft agreed to pay $27 million to approximately 95,000 California drivers who alleged they were misclassified as...more
Judges in California will likely soon issue rulings affecting two ride-sharing companies, Uber and Lyft. Those connected with the Lyft case will be pleased because it is expected that a federal district court judge in San...more
Four of the eight court cases we report on below in our February 2017 monthly update of IC misclassification cases involve Uber, and each of those cases were victories for the ride-sharing, on-demand company. Although none of...more
A California court quietly granted ride-sharing giant Uber a significant victory last week in the ongoing misclassification battle over whether its drivers are properly classified as independent contractors. Although this...more
January was a busy month for independent contractor misclassification – and IC compliance. In addition to Lowe’s $2.85 million settlement with installers whom it classified as ICs, Lufthansa agreed to pay $1.1 million in...more
In our update for last month’s developments in this area of the law, we report on five significant court cases involving companies in the transportation industry that use ICs as an integral part of their business model. Each...more
Gig economy companies based on an independent contractor model beware. On December 14, 2016, a federal court in Pennsylvania denied a motion to dismiss an “on-call” wage claim in a class action lawsuit filed against Uber by...more
Our news update for last month highlights the fact that IC misclassification lawsuits are happening across the country and in virtually every industry, both in the on-demand economy and in more traditional business sectors....more
Our update for this past month is noteworthy for the fact that we report below on IC misclassification lawsuits plaguing some of the largest and most recognizable companies in the U.S. (like Uber, Amazon, and FedEx) as well...more
Earlier yesterday, Uber was dealt yet another setback in its efforts to settle the IC misclassification lawsuits brought against it by Uber drivers in California and Massachusetts. As readers of this legal blog will recall...more
Four of the five independent contractor (IC) misclassification cases reported below from July 2016 illustrate how companies continue to fail to structure, document, and implement a business’s IC relationships in a manner that...more
The poster children of IC misclassification cases dominated the news in June: Uber, Lyft, GrubHub, FedEx, an exotic dance club, and a trucking transport company. It was not a good month for any of them, yet as we have...more
This past month involved the settlement of a number of high profile IC misclassification cases. In one case, a federal court gave conditional approval to a $226 million settlement between FedEx and its Ground Division...more
Only two weeks after a federal court judge in California rejected a proposed $12.25 million independent contractor misclassification settlement between Lyft and its drivers in California because it “shortchanged” the drivers...more
The cases reported in this update continue to reflect the fact that IC misclassification cases cut across virtually all industries. Below are IC misclassification cases from such diverse industries as insurance, ride-sharing,...more
Papers were filed in court today formally opposing the deal that Lyft agreed to with the lawyers representing over 100,000 Lyft drivers in their class action brought in the federal court in San Francisco. The objectors were...more
The future of ride-sharing companies has hung in the balance for more than two years while class actions and labor complaints were pending against industry giants Uber, Lyft and others. The ride-sharing companies have...more
Amazon is the latest tech company to be sued in a proposed class action by drivers delivering its products – in this case, goods to be delivered within two hours of being ordered through Amazon’s “Prime Now” app. The drivers...more
Just last month, GrubHub, DoorDash, and Caviar were sued in San Francisco Superior Court in lawsuits similar to those pending cases against Uber and Lyft. These three new lawsuits ask the hot-button question: are...more