Uber misclassification class action settlement overturned in California

The legal conflict between Uber and its drivers continues. In an earlier blog post, we discussed the proposed $100 million settlement offer in the class action lawsuit from Uber drivers against the company. The lawsuit claims that Uber is misclassifying its drivers as private contractors instead of employees, which limits their benefits and legal protections. Both sides agreed to the settlement. All that remained in the process was obtaining approval from the federal district courts in both Boston and Oakland.

Uber Almost Got Away Easy…Almost

According to a recent report in the NY Times, Judge Edward M. Chen of the Federal District Court for Northern California overturned the proposed settlement for being unfair and unreasonable. According to the Times, “He also said a small portion of the $100 million amount reflects only 0.1 percent of the potential full verdict value of the case.” Although $100 million seems like a lot of money, and it is, considering the number of drivers that work for Uber and how much their status as employees could be worth, this settlement offer is surprisingly low. This appears to be good news for Uber drivers. If the case does go through and they win, it will likely mean substantially more compensation for them. However, if they lose the case, they have already lost the opportunity for the settlement money and they would be left with nothing. This is just one more example of how important it is in cases like this to work with an attorney who has experience with both employment claims and class action litigation. If your rights are being violated at work in California, call a lawyer you can trust right away.