Uber Accused of Saving $500 Million a Year by Cheating Drivers
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Uber Technologies Inc. may be saving more than $500 million a year by misclassifying its California drivers as independent contractors, according to a lawsuit that claims the ride-hailing company is flouting a ruling by the state’s highest court.
Uber avoids paying an average of $9.07 an hour in expenses and benefits that it would incur if drivers were properly treated as employees, according to the complaint filed in federal court in San Francisco. In other words, if they got minimum wage, overtime, meal and rest breaks, workers’ compensation and unemployment and health insurance, as well as Social Security and Medicare benefits.