U.S. Appeals Court Deals Setback To Uber Drivers' Cases

[HardOCP News]

According to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, a private arbitrator, not a judge, should decide whether or not a lawsuit against Uber should move forward. Seems a bit odd that a judge would force arbitration instead of ruling on the case himself.

A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday shifted most of a lawsuit challenging background checks performed by Uber Technologies Inc on its drivers to arbitration, a ruling likely to affect a larger case over whether they should be considered employees or independent contractors. The decision could also limit the scope of a separate class action that had involved 385,000 drivers in California and Massachusetts. Those drivers said they were employees entitled to reimbursement for expenses like gas and vehicle maintenance.

 

[Grahamkracka]

This is not strange at all. There is likely a provision in the contract a driver signs with Uber that grievances will be handed by an arbitrator.