O'Connor v. Uber Techs., Inc.
| Decision Date | 11 March 2015 |
| Docket Number | No. C-13-3826 EMC,C-13-3826 EMC |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of California |
| Parties | DOUGLAS O'CONNOR, et al., Plaintiffs, v. UBER TECHNOLOGIES, INC., et al., Defendants. |
Plaintiffs filed this putative class action on behalf of themselves and other similarly situated individuals who drive for Defendant Uber Technologies, Inc. See Docket No. 201-2 (Second Amended Class Action Complaint) (SAC). Plaintiffs claim that they are employees of Uber, as opposed to its independent contractors, and thus are eligible for various statutory protections for employees codified in the California Labor Code, such as a requirement that an employer pass on the entire amount of any gratuity "that is paid, given to, or left for an employee by a patron." Cal. Lab. Code § 351; see also SAC at ¶¶ 27-28.
Pending before the Court is Uber's motion for summary judgment that Plaintiffs are independent contractors as a matter of law. As is discussed below, the Court first concludes that Plaintiffs are Uber's presumptive employees because they "perform services" for the benefit of Uber. The Court next holds that whether an individual should ultimately be classified as an employee or an independent contractor under California law presents a mixed question of law and fact that must typically be resolved by a jury. Finally, because a number of facts material to theemployee/independent contractor determination in this case remain in dispute, the Court denies Uber's summary judgment motion.
In a nutshell, Uber provides a service whereby individuals in need of vehicular transportation can log in to the Uber software application on their smartphone, request a ride, be paired via the Uber application with an available driver, be picked up by the available driver, and ultimately be driven to their final destination. Uber receives a credit card payment from the rider at the end of the ride, a significant portion of which it then remits to the driver who transported the passenger.
Named plaintiffs Douglas O'Connor and Thomas Colopy drive principally for Uber's "UberBlack" service.1 See Docket Nos. 212-1 (Colopy Depo.); 212-2 (O'Connor Depo). UberBlack drivers transport passengers in black sedans (e.g., Lincoln Towncars) or other limousine-like vehicles. Docket No. 223-37. O'Connor received access to a luxury vehicle through at least two different companies, SF Bay and Bay Network Limo. See O'Connor Depo. Tr. at 118:12-122:15 In exchange for providing a car and paying all of O'Connor's expenses (e.g., fuel and tolls), SF Bay received sixty percent of O'Connor's earnings from transporting Uber passengers. See id. at 124:12-125:4. Bay Network Limo provided O'Connor with a luxury vehicle for a flat $735 weekly fee, which included maintenance and insurance on the vehicle, but no other expenses. See id. at 135:4-136:14. O'Connor was free to use Bay Network Limo's vehicle as much or as little as he chose. Id. at 135:16-136:3. Colopy had similar arrangements with two third-party limousine companies that provided him with a vehicle necessary to work as an UberBlack driver. See Colopy Depo. Tr. at 98:24-102:22; 126:11-129:4.
Named plaintiffs Matthew Manahan and Elie Gurfinkel drive principally for Uber's "uberX" service. Docket Nos. 212-3 (Manahan Depo.); 212-4 (Gurfinkel Depo.). uberX drivers transport passengers in their own personal vehicles, which are typically hybrids or other "mid-range" cars. Docket No. 223-37. Manahan, a self-employed screenwriter in Los Angeles, drives for uberX, as well as Lyft and Sidecar, two of Uber's competitors. Manahan Depo. Tr. at 71:3-6; 92:18-21.Manahan transports passengers in his personal vehicle - a 2012 Kia Soul. Id. at 110:17-21. Gurfinkel began driving for uberX while he was employed full-time as a "fulfillment and project manager" by a company called ADL Embedded Solutions. Gurfinkel Tr. at 43:4-13. Two months after he began driving for Uber, Gurfinkel left his job at ADL, and now drives for Uber full time. Id. at 57:17-24.
Before becoming "partners" with Uber, Plaintiffs and other aspiring drivers must first complete Uber's application process. See Docket No. 223-20; Docket No. 223-28. Applicants are required to upload their driver's license information, as well as information about their vehicle's registration and insurance. Docket No. 223-28 at 2. Applicants must also pass a background check conducted by a third party. Id. at 3. Would-be drivers are further required to pass a "city knowledge test" and attend an interview with an Uber employee.2 Docket No. 223-20 at 6740; Docket No. 223-29 at 4. Interviewees are instructed to "[b]ring your car, dress professionally and be prepared to stay for 1 hour." Docket No. 223-20 at 6740.
Once a prospective driver successfully completes the application and interview stages, the driver must sign contracts with Uber or one of Uber's subsidiaries (Raiser LLC). See Docket No. 223-15 (Transportation Provider Service Agreement) (Service Agreement); see also Docket No. 223-16 (Driver Addendum Related to Uber Services) (Addendum).3 Those contracts explicitly provide that the relationship between the transportation providers and Uber/Raiser4 "is solely that of independent contracting parties." See Addendum at 7; Service Agreement at 9. The parties "expressly agree that this Agreement is not an employment agreement or employment relationship."Addendum at 7; Service Agreement at 9. The relevant contracts further provide that drivers will be paid a "fee" (i.e., fare) upon the successful completion of each ride. According to an Uber 30(b)(6) deponent, Uber sets fares based principally on the miles traveled by the rider and the duration of the ride. Coleman Depo. at 187:20-188:16. Because Uber receives the rider's payment of the entire fare, the relevant contracts provide that Uber will automatically deduct its own "fee per ride" from the fare before it remits the remainder to the driver. See Addendum at 7; Service Agreement at 9. Plaintiffs presented evidence that Uber typically takes roughly 20 percent of the total fare billed to a rider as its "fee per ride." See, e.g., Colopy Depo Tr. at 128:15-19.
In this litigation, Uber bills itself as a "technology company," not a "transportation company," and describes the software it provides as a "lead generation platform" that can be used to connect "businesses that provide transportation" with passengers who desire rides. Docket No. 213 (Colman Decl.) at ¶ 6. Uber notes that it owns no vehicles, and contends that it employs no drivers. Id. Rather, Uber partners with alleged independent contractors that it frequently refers to as "transportation providers." Id.
Plaintiffs characterize Uber's business (and their relationship with Uber) differently. They note that while Uber now disclaims that it is a "transportation company," Uber has previously referred to itself as an "On-Demand Car Service," and goes by the tagline "Everyone's Private Driver."5 See, e.g., Docket No. 223-3 at 1 (Coleman Depo. Ex. 3); Docket No. 223-6 at 1 (Onboarding Script) ("Our tagline and vision is to be 'Everyone's Private Driver.'").6 Indeed, incommenting on Uber's planned expansion into overseas markets, its CEO wrote on Uber's official blog: Docket No. 223-1 at 6 (emphasis added).7 Other Uber documents state that "Uber provides the best transportation service in San Francisco . . . ." Docket No. 223-29 at 2.
Moreover, Uber does not sell its software in the manner of a typical distributor. Rather, Uber is deeply involved in marketing its transportation services, qualifying and selecting drivers, regulating and monitoring their performance, disciplining (or terminating) those who fail to meet standards, and setting prices.
In addition to contending it is a technology company and not a transportation company, Uber argues the drivers are not its employees but instead are independent contractors, and therefore not entitled to the protection of the California Labor Code as asserted herein. In this regard, Uber contends it exercises minimal control over how its transportation providers actually provide transportation services to Uber customers, an important factor in determining whether drivers are independent contractors. Among other things, Uber notes that drivers set their own hours and work schedules, provide their own vehicles, and are subject to little direct supervision. Plaintiffs vigorously dispute these contentions, and claim that Uber exercises considerable control and supervision over both the methods and means of its drivers' provision of transportation services, and that under the applicable legal standard they are employees. For the reasons explained in this Order, based on the record before the Court, the question whether Uber's drivers are employees or independent contractors is an issue to be decided by a jury, not this Court on summary judgment.
This Court may only grant summary judgment in favor of Uber if "there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Alexander v. FedEx Ground Package Sys., Inc., 765 F.3d 981, 987 (9th Cir. 2014). That is, Uber is entitled to summary judgment only if, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the drivers, this Court necessarily must conclude that Plaintiffs are independent contractors as a matter of law. See id. at 988.
The parties agree that determining whether Plaintiffs are employees or independent contractors is an analysis that proceeds in two stages. "First, under California law, once a plaintiff comes forward with evidence that he provided services for an employer, the employee has established a prima facie...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Bekele v. Lyft, Inc.
...Lyft drivers are employees or independent contractors is for a "jur[y] to decide" under California law); O'Connor v. Uber Techs., Inc., 82 F.Supp.3d 1133, 1153 (N.D.Cal.2015) (holding that Uber drivers are "presumptive employees," but that the ultimate issue of classification depends on dis......