Labor Commissioner’s Wage Theft Lawsuits against Uber & Lyft
California’s Labor Commissioner is suing Uber and Lyft for committing wage theft by willfully misclassifying drivers as independent contractors instead of employees. Misclassification deprives the drivers of basic rights under California labor law. The Labor Commissioner’s lawsuits seek to recover unpaid wages and other compensation that drivers are entitled to under the law.
The Labor Commissioner’s lawsuits against Uber and Lyft are pending in San Francisco Superior Court before Judge Ethan Schulman, in a coordinated proceeding along with lawsuits that were filed against those defendants by the Attorney General and the SF, LA and San Diego City Attorneys, and related actions by PAGA plaintiffs. Although the Labor Commissioner’s claims only reach back to April 2017, other actions in this coordinated proceeding reach further back than that.
Judicial proceedings in the trial court were stayed during the pendency of Uber and Lyft’s ultimately unsuccessful effort to compel arbitration of various claims. Uber and Lyft made this motion in the trial court, and we argued against it. The court ruled in our favor. Uber and Lyft then appealed that ruling. The Court of Appeal again ruled in our favor. Uber and Lyft then sought review from the California Supreme Court. The Court denied review. Uber and Lyft filed a petition for review in the United States Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court denied review. The stay was lifted on July 2, 2024, and the parties are now engaged in discovery. We anticipate a trial will be scheduled for 2026.
Based on the California Supreme Court’s recent decision in Castellanos v. State of California, upholding the constitutionality of certain challenged provisions in Proposition 22, the relief sought in this action will not extend beyond December 15, 2020, as the lawsuits are premised on defendant’s misclassification of drivers as independent contractors under both the ABC test and the Borello test for determining employee or independent contractor status. Proposition 22 created a different test for that determination for app-based drivers.
Under current law, the Labor Commissioner lacks authority to enforce driver claims to enforce rights founded upon Prop 22 (such as the guarantee to pay drivers 120% of the applicable minimum wage for “engaged time,” or the provision under which drivers exceeding specified amounts of “engaged time” are entitled to a health insurance stipend). To the extent that an app-based driver does not meet the test for independent contractor status under Prop 22, the Labor Commissioner would have jurisdiction to hear and adjudicate claims based on the Labor Code concerning post-December 15, 2020 conduct.
- Read the August 5 letter sent to Uber and Lyft drivers who filed wage claim complaints. Individual wage claims filed on or after January 1, 2020 have been dismissed. The Labor Commissioner’s lawsuits seek to recover unpaid wages and other compensation that drivers are entitled to.
- Read the press release: Labor Commissioner’s Office Files Lawsuits against Uber and Lyft for Engaging in Systemic Wage Theft Against All of their Drivers
- FAQs on lawsuits against Uber and Lyft
The Labor Commissioner’s Office will post updates on this webpage when there are further developments in the lawsuits.
If you have further questions regarding the Labor Commissioner’s lawsuits, please send an email to LCO-Uber-Lyft-Lawsuits@dir.ca.gov or call one of our district offices. Media inquiries should be sent to Communications@dir.ca.gov.
October 2024