(Bloomberg) -- New York considers drivers for ride-hailing car services such as Uberfreelance workers rather than employees, according to the city’schief taxi regulator, a policy that supports the company’s businessmodel.

The view, expressed by Meera Joshi, chairwoman of the New York CityTaxi and Limousine Commission, runs counter to a California Labor Commission rulinglast month that ordered Uber to reimburse a driver for morethan $4,000 in expenses incurred over eight weeks.

“We have wholeheartedly supported driver flexibility asindependent contractors when we allow them, much to theconsternation of the industry, to drive for several bases,” Joshisaid in a Tuesday interview on Bloomberg Television.

[Related: Happy birthday Uber, now grow up!]

Uber Technologies Inc., founded five years ago in San Francisco,has argued that drivers merely connect with passengers throughmobile-device applications designed by the company, rather thanworking for it directly. The company has grown to serve 300 citiesworldwide, stirring conflict with traditional taxi and car-for-hirebusinesses in California, New York and Paris. It has asserted itsvalue at $50 billion.

New York allows drivers to be linked with several companiessimultaneously “so a driver is not an Uber driver,” Joshi said.“That’s a flexibility the driver is entitled to. They don’t havethe security of employment; they don’t have the security ofguaranteed income.”

In the event a court ruled that such drivers are employees,“then our position would change,” Joshi said. “If the decisionis they are employees and they are entitled to all those rightsthat employees are entitled to, we would definitely be vigilant inmaking sure they get those.”

Copyright 2018 Bloomberg. All rightsreserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten,or redistributed.