Uber Class Action Settlement Leaves Much Unsettled

The recent settlement of a pair of class action lawsuits targeting Uber will, if it gets court approval, cost the company as much as $100 million. Under the terms of the proposed settlement Uber can keep the independent contractor designation for drivers, but among other provisions it will forego the right to terminate a contract if a driver doesn’t accept a minimum percentage of the ride requests received, and it will allow drivers to post signs that say the charge for the ride does not include a tip. These two provisions, combined with the fact that drivers have their own system of passenger ratings, might mean Uber habitues who don’t tip could have some trouble getting a ride. Meanwhile the key issue regarding worker classification, central to the business plan of an increasing number of “on-demand” companies, remains unresolved. “No court has decided here whether Uber drivers are employees or independent contractors and that debate will not end here,” says the Boston-based plaintiff attorney in these cases.