The question over whether app-based gig drivers are transportation workers exempt from mandatory arbitration agreements in employment disputes will take center stage at federal appeals courts in Philadelphia and Boston this week.
Uber Technologies Inc. drivers will try to convince the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Tuesday to overturn a lower court order sending to arbitration two lawsuits accusing the ride-hailing giant of misclassifying them as independent contractors. The company instead should treat drivers as employees entitled to full benefits under federal and state wage and hour laws, the lawsuits say.
Boston-area Postmates LLC delivery drivers will urge the First Circuit Wednesday to undo a similar ruling sending their worker misclassification case against the Uber subsidiary to arbitration.
At the core of the dispute is an exception within the Federal Arbitration Act, which generally favors arbitration agreements and use of this resolution process rather than litigation.
The cases turn on whether drivers transporting passengers or delivering goods qualify for the FAA’s exemption for “contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce.”
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