A U.S. judge in Philadelphia ruled this week that driver’s of Uber’s upscale service UberBlack are not employees of the company’s under federal law as Uber does not exert enough control over them to be considered their employer, reports CNBC. This is because the drivers work when they want to and can take breaks when they want to without the permission of anyone at Uber. The issue of whether gig workers are employees is a hot one in recent years. If gig economy companies would have to treat the people who operate their services as employees, the biggest ones would face tens of millions in costs ranging from providing health insurance to retirement contributions. The case was brought to the court by Philadelphia-area Uber drivers. Their lawyers have said they will appeal the ruling.
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