Brazil Court Rules That Uber Drivers Are Independent Workers

  • Ruling could set a precedent for other cases in the country
  • Uber seeks to classify its drivers as independent contractors

Photographer: Ali Balikci/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

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Brazil’s Superior Court ruled that drivers who provide services through the Uber Technologies Inc. app are independent from the ride-hailing firm, a decision that may benefit the company by setting a precedent for similar cases in the country.

“App drivers don’t have a hierarchic relationship with Uber because their services are provided casually, without pre-established working hours or fixed salary, and therefore the characteristics of the labor tie among the parts don’t exist,” the court said in a unanimous decision by the 10 justices that form the second section of the court, overturning a previous ruling from a local court.