by on Leave a Comment

Welcome New York Times Readers

If you read my recent op-ed in The New York Times, welcome! And if not, feel free to read it here.

If you’re interested in learning more about me, please take a look at my about page. We have been covering AB5 closely so if you are interested in learning more about what drivers have to say about the bill and the employee vs independent contractor debate, please review the following links:

New Lyft Driver - Earn 1500:week

Burnt Out Talking To Passengers? Deliver Food With Caviar!

caviar_logo

Make up to $25/hour. No minimum hours required, work outside, and get paid weekly. Click to Sign-up!

If you’d like to stay up to date on all of our content, please click here to subscribe to our e-mail list. And if you’re a member of the media who would like to chat, please click here to contact me.

by on Leave a Comment

2018 Tax Changes For Uber Drivers – New Tax Rules

Today we have a guest post from QuickBooks Self-Employed with more information on what to do in 2018 after the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The good news is that most drivers will end up paying less in federal taxes this year IF they take advantage of the right deductions. Right now, you can get a 30 Day free trial of QuickBooks Self-Employed and then 50% off for the next six months afterwards.

👉 Your two most important tools during tax season: Turbotax to file your taxes and a mileage tracking app to keep track of your miles!

What’s New In Rideshare Taxes For 2018?

The 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act brought on many major changes to both business and personal income taxes. Rideshare drivers are affected mostly by the business changes since driving for apps like Lyft and Uber is treated as independent contractor work.

Here’s what you need to know if you’re currently a rideshare driver or are thinking about driving to earn some extra cash.

[Read more…]

by on 16 Comments

Did Drivers Get Screwed With The Uber Lawsuit Settlement?

A couple weeks ago, news broke that the Uber Misclassification Lawsuit in California had been settled.  This came as a big surprise to me and many others who’d been watching the case.  But now that some time has passed, I wanted to break down what it means for all parties involved.

The first thing that drivers need to understand is that this settlement still needs to be approved by Judge Chen.  There’s a preliminary approval hearing on June 2 and we may know more about the details and time-line then, but with a case this big, even the settlement process (if it’s approved) could extend well into 2017.  So drivers looking to get paid will have to be very patient.

Uber has already started implementing some of the non-monetary concessions from the settlement like the driver deactivation policy (nationwide) and an appeals process for deactivations.  Although to be fair, Uber started piloting the latter in Seattle months ago, so even though it’s technically included in the settlement, it seems like they were planning on doing it anyways.

Our summary of the Uber lawsuit settlement, including a summary of the verdict and a handy FAQ for readers. Questions? Leave a comment!

[Read more…]

by on 96 Comments

Should Drivers Opt Out of Uber’s New Driver-Partner Agreement?

Today I woke up to a slew of e-mails, Facebook messages and Tweets about Uber’s new driver-partner agreement that was sent out to all drivers early this morning.  In short, it’s a 21 page PDF that you will need to agree to in order to go online and drive the next time you sign in.

I would read the document carefully, but in case you want the cliff notes, I’ve been researching all morning and will update this article accordingly as soon as I get more information.

Here’s a link to the document if you’d like to read it: Uber’s New Driver-Partner Agreement

Uber New Partner-Driver Agreement

Uber New Partner-Driver Agreement

The part that stands out to me is all the way down on Page 15 where it talks about arbitration.  On Wednesday, Uber lost a HUGE ruling in the employee misclassification lawsuit that basically opened up the class action lawsuit to all drivers in California (and potentially all drivers in the US).  This latest partner agreement is obviously a clear response to losing that motion in court since, if you sign this new agreement, you will not be able to participate in any past, current or future class action lawsuits. [Read more…]

by on 14 Comments

Uber Driver Lawsuit Update: Why This Ruling Could Affect 160,000+ Uber Drivers

Update (12/11/2015): Uber recently sent out an updated partner agreement in response to the latest ruling in this case.  Make sure you check out our latest article: Should Drivers Opt Out of Uber’s New Driver-Partner Agreement?

Harry here.  We’ve been following the Uber Misclassification Lawsuit closely over the past year, and today RSG contributor Christian Perea shares an important update with you.  

If you’d like to learn more or get some background on the case, make sure you listen to our interview with Shannon Liss-Riordan on the podcast, who is the attorney representing Uber drivers in this case.

And here’s some more background we’ve written:

Uber Driver Lawsuit Update: Why This Ruling Could Affect 160,000+ Uber Drivers

Uber Driver Lawsuit Update: Why This Ruling Could Affect 160,000+ Uber Drivers

On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen expanded the scope of the potential damages and participants in the case that seeks to reclassify Uber Drivers as employees instead of contractors. Previously, Judge Chen had ruled that only a narrow number of California Uber drivers who had not opted out of Uber’s arbitration and driven before May of 2014 would qualify for the class action suit (basically nobody).

If you’re a driver in CA, you may remember being forced to opt in to this arbitration clause in order to be able to go online all the way back in 2014.  It’s kind of shady how Uber makes drivers agree to new service fees and these types of agreements before going online, so regardless of your position on the case, we’re glad to see the judge recognize this. In fact, this is what is known as forced mandatory arbitration and it is vehemently opposed by consumer groups as it passes the costs of litigation on to the consumer. [Read more…]