"Uber and Lyft face new lawsuit from CA Labor Commissioner," 5 August 2020

Uber and Lyft are both facing another lawsuit from the office of the California Labor Commissioner alleging wage theft…“The Uber and Lyft business model rests on the misclassification of drivers as independent contractors,” California Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower said in a statement. “This leaves workers without protections such as paid sick leave and reimbursement of drivers’ expenses, as well as overtime and minimum wages.”

AB 5, which went into law earlier this year, outlines what type of worker can and cannot be classified as an independent contractor…in order for a hiring entity to legally classify a worker as an independent contractor, it must prove the worker is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity, performs work outside the scope of the entity’s business and is regularly engaged in work of some independently established trade or other similar business.

These suits are seeking for the court to order Uber and Lyft to classify their drivers as employees and provide them with all the protections that come with being a W-2 employee.