Wage Claims Update
By Tyler Sandness, Former Driver
RDU Staff
It has been four years since more than 5,000 drivers filed wage complaints with the California Labor Commission demanding that Lyft and Uber return stolen wages, expenses, and benefits to drivers. The companies classify us as independent contractors so they can pay us as little as they want and avoid paying what all employers in California are required to pay. However, we argue that given the level of control the companies exert over us, we are not independent contractors at all.
Prior to Prop 22, we were considered eligible for all benefits and pay due employees, under California’s AB5. In fact, the math shows that if we had been paid basic minimum wage, overtime, and expenses, the 5,000+ drivers who filed their claims would be owed an historic $1.3 billion in wage theft violations and damages*.
The California Labor Commission received our complaints and took up the case on behalf of all California drivers at the time. The case was later joined by the Attorney General as well as the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego, and expanded the case to cover all drivers who drove in California at any point during the four years previous to August 1st, 2020.
As most of us have come to expect through experience, Lyft and Uber engage in specific legal strategies to slow down the case, and try to extend the unfairness. Their big argument in court was that the state needed to honor the mandatory arbitration clause in drivers' Terms of Service, and therefore could not bring this huge lawsuit to court. So the court decided to put the case on hold until that argument was settled.
After months of delays, in January, 2024, Lyft and Uber LOST that argument in state court and in July 2024, the hold on the case was officially lifted. The State and the three cities are now moving into the next phase of the case called “discovery” where Lyft and Uber will be mandated to produce data showing how they manage drivers and their pay.
It will be an amazing opportunity to expose the manipulative tactics of control over drivers, and we will have transparency that we have never had before. We expect the data to provide proof of drivers being disciplined for taking unprofitable rides, tricked out of offered bonuses, zero control over pay, algorithmic determination for who gets which rides, and more.
It is also likely that many drivers may be asked to provide evidence of company control over our work and pay which "independent contractors" are not subject to.
This is an important milestone - our wage claims are finally moving forward, bringing us closer to the day when we can reclaim our stolen money and be made whole. The data disclosure is also important as it will put the business models of Lyft and Uber on blast. They refuse to call us employees, but we don’t have the level of control that defines Independent Contractors. The companies must pay us adequate compensation if their algorithms control us like regular workers.
October 7, 2024, the US Supreme Court refused to hear appeals from ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft, who were trying to block California drivers’ wage claims by saying the state was mandated to abide by driver/company arbitration agreements. Without comment, the justices turned down appeals from both companies. They said those arbitration agreements did not cover the state, and were between companies and the drivers.
This is huge! The California Supreme Court made the same determination in January of this year, but that wasn’t enough for Lyft and Uber, so they took their slow-down tactic to the Supreme Court. And got blocked!
In the meantime, our wage claims are moving full force ahead, with the state and cities involved investigating our claims that the companies stole our wages for the period before Prop 22, and that we were qualified for full labor rights under California law at that time, meaning the companies were obligated to pay for all our work time including wait time, expense reimbursement, as well as basic minimum wage and overtime
And one more thing - it’s the power of 5,000 drivers working together that is making any of this happen. Those 5,000 voices have developed into an effort that will benefit ALL California drivers.
When we fight, we win!
Hold tight - and let’s keep our fingers crossed for good, fast movement in this important case!
* Note: Around half of the $1.3 Billion included “punitive damages” which are additional charges to the company based on their egregious conduct. Damages are intended to discourage future wrongdoing.
