Uber drivers, if employees, owed $730 million more: U.S. court papers

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

World | Mon May 9, 2016 5:02pm EDT

Uber drivers, if employees, owed $730 million more: U.S. court papers

SAN FRANCISCO | BY DAN LEVINE

Drivers who worked for ride-hailing service Uber (UBER.UL) in California and Massachusetts over the past seven years would have been entitled to an estimated $730 million in expense reimbursements had they been employees rather than contractors, according to court documents made public on Monday.

The figure was calculated by attorneys for drivers in a class action against the company, based on a standard rate for mileage reimbursement set by the U.S. government, and on data provided by Uber. Uber disputes the idea that drivers would ever be entitled to that reimbursement rate.

Uber and smaller rival Lyft are attempting to settle legal actions by drivers who contend they should be classified as employees and therefore entitled to reimbursement for expenses, including gasoline and vehicle maintenance. Drivers currently pay those costs themselves.

The proposed Uber settlement would pay drivers up to $100 million. A San Francisco federal judge must decide whether that deal is fair, and the total potential damages at play in the lawsuit will likely bear on his analysis.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-tech-drivers-lawsuit-idUSKCN0Y02E8

[scscholar]

1. Good

It's sad to see how they're hurting taxi drivers trying to support their families.