Uber Technologies Inc. is being sued by Boston labor lawyer Shannon Liss-Riordan, who claims that the company exploits its drivers, according to The Boston Globe.
The lawsuit was filed in Suffolk County Superior Court in Boston on Thursday. The lawsuit accuses Uber of mis-classifying its drivers as independent contractors so they do not have to pay them the same as employees who have benefits.
The lawsuit also claims that Uber “retains a portion of the gratuity for itself” instead of giving the drivers their entire tip from riders.
“By not classifying its drivers as employees, Uber is shifting the expenses of running a business to its workers,” Liss-Riordan said, according to The Boston Globe. “Making the workers pay for these business expenses saves Uber an enormous amount of money.”
The lawsuit was filed on the behalf of Hakan Yucesory, from Brookline, who is an Uber driver. Liss-Riordan is seeking class action status for the lawsuit.
“It’s these so-called new technology companies that are using old-school methods to keep their workers from having their rights under the law,” she said. “It’s the newest spin to avoid employee classification.”
Taylor Bennett, a spokesman for Uber, told The Boston Globe, “I can tell you that Uber will vigorously defend the rights of riders to enjoy competition and choice, and for drivers to build their own small business.”