Dive Brief:
- With a major legal battle poised to take place this summer in California over the classification of independent contractors, it appears another former Uber driver has successfully applied for and is receiving unemployment benefits, according to the San Francisco Weekly.
- The Weekly reports that Patrick Ely is one of a few known examples where the state's Employment Development Department (EDD) agreed that an Uber driver is an employee and as such, entitled to unemployment benefits.
- The Weekly notes that this situation could potentially impact the upcoming trial over whether Uber's driver "partners" are employees or independent contractors.
Dive Insight:
The ex-Uber driver, who was taken off the Uber app after disagreements with the company on several fronts, had to file a form and do a short telephone interview before getting around $350 a week in unemployment, his San Francisco-based attorney, Mark Burton, told the Weekly.
According to the attorney, Ely's unemployment came down to the amount of control Uber had over his work. "And the most important factor in control is whether they can get rid of you at any time, just like an employee," Burton told the Weekly.
Burton has other Uber drivers and former drivers as clients, but in their cases, employment status will be determined by an arbitrator. California remains the key battleground for the on-demand economy's contractor vs. employee legal fight.
