The crux of the article is the issue of whether Uber employees are actually independent contractors:
"The courts will decide, with the Uber case and with the rest that will follow, whether these workers are truly independent contractors, a classification that depends on many factors, not just the ability to fire. And as of late, it’s not looking very promising for the employers.
A federal appeals court ruled in August that FedEx drivers are employees, not independent contractors, a decisions that attorneys said could have serious implications for “sharing economy”-type companies that rely on that model. And a California Supreme Court ruling from June also said that newspaper carriers had been illegally misclassified as independent contractors.
The deciding factor? The company’s ability to fire the workers. “Perhaps the strongest evidence of the right to control is whether the hirer can discharge the worker without cause,” the opinion said."
"The courts will decide, with the Uber case and with the rest that will follow, whether these workers are truly independent contractors, a classification that depends on many factors, not just the ability to fire. And as of late, it’s not looking very promising for the employers.
A federal appeals court ruled in August that FedEx drivers are employees, not independent contractors, a decisions that attorneys said could have serious implications for “sharing economy”-type companies that rely on that model. And a California Supreme Court ruling from June also said that newspaper carriers had been illegally misclassified as independent contractors.
The deciding factor? The company’s ability to fire the workers. “Perhaps the strongest evidence of the right to control is whether the hirer can discharge the worker without cause,” the opinion said."