https://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/california_labor_law/california-labor-law-lawsuit-
179-21580.html?opt=
b&utm_expid=3607522-13.Y4u1ixZNSt6o8v_5N8VGVA.1&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.
lawyersandsettlements.com%2Flegal-news-articles%2Femployment-news-articles%2F%3Fopt%3Db
as an increasing number of companies face California labor lawsuits alleging they misclassify
employees as independent contractors to avoid offering benefits and protections typically given to
employees. Among the companies that have or are currently facing lawsuits are GrubHub, Lyft,
Uber, Amazon Prime and DoorDash. And although many lawsuits have been filed in California,
some companies now face lawsuits in other states.
In 2015, a lawsuit was filed against GrubHub alleging delivery drivers were misclassified as
independent contractors. The claim is similar to those that were made against Lyft and
Uber: that drivers are treated like employees but classified as independent contractors to
avoid offering proper benefits and protections.
For drivers who claim they are employees, there could be a lot at stake. Not only are independent
contractors not offered minimum wage, overtime and benefits, they are often responsible for their
own costs of doing business, including vehicle maintenance, gas and parking charges.
GrubHub contracts drivers to deliver food from restaurants who do not hire their own delivery
drivers. But those drivers allege they are treated like employees, not like independent contractors.
Independent contractors are able to set their own charges for providing a service and typically
have a great deal of authority over how they carry out their job duties.
According to court documents (found online at wired.com), GrubHub drivers are required to
sign up for shifts in advance, and are told where to report for shifts, how to dress and where
to go to await deliveries. Further, the drivers are given a set of requirements they must meet
or risk having their contracts terminated. Drivers allege that when their pay and their expenses
are taken into account, they frequently earn less than minimum wage, and are not paid overtime
even when they work more than 40 hours in a week or 12 hours in a day.
A settlement was reached in the Uber lawsuit, but that settlement was overturned by the judge,
who found that the dollar amount of the settlement was too low. US District Judge Vince
Chhabria ordered the two sides to come to a new agreement that more fairly compensates drivers
for their claims. The settlement did not result in drivers being reclassified as employees.
In addition to the California lawsuit, GrubHub now faces a federal lawsuit filed in the Northern
District of Illinois.
The GrubHub lawsuit is Tan, et al. v. GrubHub Inc., case number 3:15-cv-05128, District Court,
Northern District of California.
*For more information, please visit www.BeverlyHillsEmploymentLaw.com
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Friday, July 8, 2016
GrubHub Faces California Labor Lawsuit
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