California Sued Uber And Lyft. Will It Help Drivers?
In a bold strike against Silicon Valley’s rideshare giants, state Attorney General Xavier Becerra used newfound enforcement powers to file a lawsuit Tuesday against Uber and Lyft for refusing to classify over half a million drivers as employees.
California’s top prosecutor and the city attorneys of Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco allege the gig companies’ behavior is robbing workers of wages and benefits while dodging their fair share of taxes used to protect workers when they get sick, especially as many drivers continue to work during the coronavirus pandemic.
Though the companies have openly flouted past decisions, Becerra’s lawsuit could hit the companies hard if the court orders them to dole out back wages, not to mention potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties. The attorney general and city prosecutors say the novel coronavirus has brought about new urgency for drivers who have lost wages and continue to put themselves at greater risk of exposure from ferrying passengers in their vehicles.
“At the end of the day, no business model should hang its success on mistreating its workers and not playing by the rules,” Becerra said during a press conference.
Read more: https://www.capradio.org/articles/2020/05/05/california-sues-uber-and-lyft-saying-companies-misclassified-drivers-under-ab5/