Uber Drivers Win Preliminary Class-Action Status in Labor Case
The Federal District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina noted
that requirements for conditional certification for class-action status were “modest.” The plaintiffs needed only to show a reasonable basis for their claim that there were other employees similar to themselves.
A 2013 class-action suit filed in California suffered a setback in September when an appeals
court said most Uber drivers must go to arbitration rather than court to settle claims.
A federal court in North Carolina gave conditional certification on Wednesday to a class-action
lawsuit by several Uber drivers that was brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The company said in a statement that it was “disappointed with this decision, particularly
because a Federal District Court recently denied conditional certification in another case”; that ruling was handed down last month in Florida.
“The ruling today is going to allow drivers across the country to band together to challenge
Uber’s misclassification of them,” said Paul B. Maslo, a lawyer for the plaintiffs.