(Bloomberg) -- Uber Technologies Inc. is asking itsU.S. drivers to sign a re-worded contract that restricts theirright to sue in an escalation of a battle over whether they shouldbe treated as employees.

The ride-share company started circulating the new workagreements Friday, two days after a federal judge’s decision vastlyexpanded a California class action over pay and benefits. The judgeruled Uber improperly required tens of thousands of drivers toresolve disputes through arbitration instead of in court.

Drivers were told by Uber Friday that they must signthe new agreement to continue working for the company but that theycan opt out of certain provisions.

Shannon Liss-Riordan, a lawyer for the drivers, called Uber’sre-worded agreement an attempt to “get around the court’sdecision,” which legal experts said likely added the vast majorityof Uber’s 160,000 California drivers and hundreds of millions ofdollars in damages to the case.

“It is entirely improper for Uber to attempt now tocircumvent the court’s ruling by distributing a new arbitrationagreement that will once again try to prevent drivers from seekingto enforce their rights under the wage laws in this case,”Liss-Riordan said.

She filed an emergency request Friday with U.S. District JudgeEdward Chen in San Francisco to block Uber from enforcing thenew arbitration agreement.

‘Certified class’

Uber, meanwhile, says the agreement was endorsed Thursday byChen, and that the company isn’t aiming to enforce provisions inthe new agreement against drivers "who are part of any certifiedclass."

Despite what Uber says, the new agreement prohibitsdrivers who don’t opt out from participating in pending classactions — and that would include the case now before Chen,said Charlotte Garden, an associate professor at Seattle UniversitySchool of Law.

"At a minimum, Uber is trying to make sure that nofurther drivers can be included in this class," Garden said afterreviewing the contract.

If the judge suspects Uber is trying to end run hisWednesday ruling, he may issue an order saying drivers who arealready part of the case can’t be excluded if they sign the newagreement, Garden said.

Chen ruled that drivers in the class action can seek expensereimbursement, including as much as 57 1/2 cents for every miledriven, in addition to their claims for tips that were already partof the case. A trial is scheduled for June. A victory for thedrivers seeking to be treated as employees instead of independentcontractors threatens to upend the ride share company’s businessmodel and cut into its more than $60 billion valuation.

“We believe strongly that our agreements are valid, but we aremaking some changes and clarifications to remove uncertainty fordrivers and for us as we work through our multiple appeals on thisissue,” Matt Kallman, an Uber spokesman, said in an e-mail.

The case is O’Connor v. Uber TechnologiesInc., 13-cv-03826, U.S. District Court, Northern District ofCalifornia (San Francisco).

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