Summary
Professor Bill Gould weighs in on Uber’s legal battle over whether its drivers are independent contractors, as the company claims, or employees entitled to various benefits, and the impact the case may have on the “sharing economy.”
The most serious challenge to Uber Technologies Inc.’s “Be your own Boss” business model might also present an early test to the wider sharing economy as well as undermine its own $50 billion valuation.
The immediate battle comes Thursday in San Francisco, where Uber is seen as having a difficult task in persuading U.S. District Judge Edward M. Chen to block a lawsuit seeking to reimburse 160,000 California drivers for mileage and tips from proceeding as a class action.
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The drivers’ case may succeed — or not — based on whether it proceeds as group suit. Stanford Law School Professor William Gould called it a “good candidate” for a class action, which increases defendants’ potential costs and gives plaintiffs leverage to negotiate a deal.
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For Uber, the road ahead isn’t likely to get easier, according to Sagers and Gould.
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