A driver in California came suing Uber Technologies Inc for misclassification of drivers by the company as independent contractors rather being classify them as employee, the first case lodged against the company just hours after passing of a bill by the California’s lawmakers that counts thousands of such workers as employees, helping them enjoying status of employee and giving them a right to enjoy benefits of the same.
The proposal of class action filed by an Uber driver Angela McRay filed on late last Wednesday not only surfaced to be the first after passing of legislation by the California’s senate that could be a milestone but is it also seemed to be affecting the workers in many of the industries in California, which also include ride sharing companies like Uber and Lyft Inc.
The proposed law, also known as Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) has backing from the Governor Gavin Newsom, will not only come into effect from January 1 but will also be go through several changes before coming to be finalized.
Earlier on September 11, California State Senate voted to pass a bill with 29 votes in favor of while 11 of the members voted against the bill, which would make it difficult for companies known as “gig economy” that rely mostly on contractual workers including Uber and Lyft to classify those workers as independent contractors rather counting them as employees of their own.
The bill attracted much of the criticism by technology firms of the “gig economy” and trade groups as they mostly rely upon the 450,000 contract workers in the state of California for their operations.
Maray is the resident of Pittsburg, California and has been driving for Uber since November 2016; and in her complaint she accused the company being not law-abiding as it publicly stated that it is planning challenging the proposed law and would continue treating drivers as independent contractors.
