(Bloomberg) — There's no such thing as a typical Uber driver, the company said in a bid to fend off a group lawsuit seeking to elevate its staff from independent contractors to employees.
Uber Technologies Inc. is fighting a threat to its business model from drivers who want a guaranteed a minimum wage, compensation for mileage and the right to pay into Social Security. How Uber's case plays out may help define the future of Internet-enabled companies that depend on casual labor to provide services from home cleaning to food delivery, and even helicopter trips.
The San Francisco on-demand ride sharing company is relying on the same lawyer who helped Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in 2011 defeat a class-action case brought on behalf of a million female workers. Just as attorney Ted Boutrous argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in the retailer's case, he says it's bogus to assume the employment conditions for more than 100,000 Uber drivers in California are governed by common corporate practices.
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