GrubHub And More Hit With Suits Challenging Worker Status

Joining the same ranks as Uber and Lyft, GrubHub and a couple other companies have been hit with lawsuits challenging worker status. It's the latest legal matter challenging the sharing economy and its habit of labeling workers as independent contractors. In this case, the lawsuits claim DoorDash, GrubHub, and Caviar are misclassifying their delivery drivers, treating them like employees but classifying them as 1099 workers.

At the heart of the matter is whether drivers on the aforementioned services can be legally classified as independent contractors, which excludes them from enjoying the same benefits as traditional employees. GrubHub is accused of treating its delivery drivers like employees without classifying them as such. Without that classification, the drivers don't get things like guaranteed minimum wage, expense reimbursement, and more.

The lawsuit against Caviar is, according to the Chicago Tribune, on behalf of a San Francisco driver demanding arbitration. The lawsuits against DoorDash and GrubHub are class action suits; all three, it seems, were filed in San Francisco.

Uber and Lyft are both dealing with lawsuits that have challenged worker status — in those cases, the drivers have the same sort of complaints, saying they're treated like employees but deprived of the related benefits due to their worker classification. The situation has been described as tricky by legal experts. As expected, companies have pushed back against the suits, as reclassifying workers would result in much higher expenses.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune