Riders for "Grubhub" food delivery service congregate between deliveries in midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S., July 9, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar
(Reuters) - Judges on Massachusetts' top state court said on Monday Grubhub Inc delivery workers are distinct from the "last-mile" drivers that some courts have said are exempt from arbitrating legal claims, casting doubt on a bid by Grubhub workers to keep a proposed class action in court.
The three judges on the seven-member Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court who spoke during oral arguments seemed skeptical that Grubhub drivers, who deliver products from restaurants and convenience stores, are "engaged in interstate commerce" and thus exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act.
The plaintiffs claim Grubhub misclassified drivers as independent contractors rather than its employees and deprived them of the minimum wage, and that agreements they signed to bring legal disputes in individual arbitration are invalid under the FAA.
Gig economy companies like Grubhub rely on the use of independent contractors, who are not afforded the same legal protections as employees, to contain costs, but have faced a wave of misclassification lawsuits in recent years.
A state judge last year rejected Grubhub's motion to send the lawsuit to arbitration,...
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