A Grubhub delivery driver in California recently won his case to be classified as an employee, rather than an independent contractor. It's one of the first misclassification cases in the nation to be decided in favor of a worker.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled on March 30 that he should be classified as an employee who's entitled to overtime pay and minimum wage protections under state law.
The court ruling is "more of a warning shot to show the consequences of failing to comply" with state rules on employee classification, said Bryan Hawkins, an attorney with Stoel Rives in Sacramento.
Theane Evangelis, an attorney with Gibson Dunn in Los Angeles who represented Grubhub, said, "We disagree with the court's ruling and are considering our legal options. Thanks to Proposition 22—which California voters overwhelmingly enacted and the California Court of Appeal recently upheld—drivers who use the Grubhub app will continue to enjoy the freedom and flexibility of working as independent contractors."
Background
Raef Lawson, who worked as a delivery driver in 2015 and 2016, claimed Grubhub improperly classified him as an independent contractor and therefore violated California's minimum wage, overtime and employee expense reimbursement laws. Lawson's contract did not restrict his ability to work for others or require him to be available for a specific amount of time. Instead, drivers selected their shifts, typically centered around...
Doha, Qatar: The International Media Office of the State of Qatar released a statement in response to false claims and fabricated reports in Israeli media. "Reports circulating in the Israeli medi...