On 16th November 2015, Uber drivers in the US filed a law suite against the company claiming a class certificate that suggests that uber drivers shoud be deemed employees instead of contractors. In addition the claim reimbursement for gas and vehicle maintenance from the company.
The company argues that it connects the consumers to service providers through the internet and nothing else, hence they should not be responsible for any sort of reimbursement.
According to me the main reason a customer chooses uber is because of the low prices provided by the company and the convenience associated with the app. These prices are way cheaper than any other cabs in the country and hence might be difcult for the drivers to cover all their costs. Uber does make money through the app and advertisements , which means it is running a business. Given that uber provides competitive prices for it’s customers and if it chooses to employee all the drivers and reimburse them the company would not make a profit. At the same time if uber does not employee their drivers, the drivers may not want to be associated with the company. I personally think that uber should employee these drivers while slightly increasing the prices for its customers.
References:
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/uber-cant-appeal-class-certification-201228238.html
