(Bloomberg) -- Uber Technologies Inc. was barred from imposing a new contract on drivers who are suing the company to be treated like employees after a federal judge said the reworded agreement is confusing.

U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco on Thursday also ordered the company to stop communicating with drivers covered by the class-action lawsuit without consulting a lawyer for the drivers or getting the court’s consent.

He said a work agreement the ride-share company started circulating Dec. 11 is “likely, frankly, to engender confusion.”

“I’m very concerned about what has happened,” he said at a hearing.

A lawyer for the drivers had asked the judge to invalidate the agreement, saying it was meant to trick drivers into relinquishing their right to join the class action.

Uber’s lawyer told the judge the company thought it had his blessing to issue the new agreement.

“This court had ruled that provisions were unlawful, unconscionable and unenforceable,” Theodore Boutrous, the attorney, said in court. “The agreement that was sent out addresses the things that this court was troubled by, it fixes those things.”

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Uber barred from imposing new contract on drivers in pay lawsuit

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