Judge Expands Uber Lawsuit

U.S. District Judge Edward Chen has expanded the lawsuit against Uber to include even those drivers in California who failed to opt out of the company's arbitration agreement. Previously, the class action suit against the ride-sharing service was limited only to drivers who never signed the arbitration agreement or who drove for Uber before the clause was added into the contract. The legal action seeks employee status for the drivers, whom Uber classifies as independent contractors. "Drivers use Uber on their own terms; they control their use of the app along with where and when they drive," the company said. "As employees, drivers would lose the personal flexibility they value most." If Uber loses the lawsuit, the company could be liable for driver expenses and tips and also observe wage-and-hour laws. Some 160,000 Californians have driven for Uber since 2009, but the judge is still excluding some of them.