This week, a federal court in northern California certified portions of a class action brought by Uber drivers who worked in California since 2009 (click here for the decision [PDF]).  Over 160,000 drivers have worked for Uber in California during this time period, and while the case is making a lot of news, what are the key issues employers should understand about the ruling?  Here are five takeaways for employers from the decision:

1.     Employers must understand the class action procedure

Employers with more than 30 or so employees should understand what a class action is, and the procedural issues of a class action.  It is important to understand that while the court certified certain portions of the plaintiffs’ case (and refused to certify others), this does not mean that Uber has lost the case.  Class certification is not a ruling on the merits of the case, but only whether the case is one that there a sufficient similarities between all of the class members’ claims that enable to court to decide the matter on a class wide basis.  The court explained:

The merits of the case are not currently at issue. Rather, the Court needs to consider only two questions at this juncture; whether the case can properly proceed as a class action, and, if so, how. While answering both of those questions necessarily requires the Court to perform a rigorous analysis of a number of legal issues, the parties correctly recognize that one threshold issue is of paramount importance to the success or failure of Plaintiffs’ class certification motion: as to whether drivers are Uber’s employees or independent contractors under California’s common-law test of employment, will “questions of law or fact common to class members predominate over any questions affecting only individual members” of the proposed class?

….

That is, are the drivers’ working relationships with Uber sufficiently similar so that a jury can resolve the Plaintiffs’ legal claims all at once? This question is of cardinal importance because if the Plaintiffs’ worker classification cannot be adjudicated on a classwide basis, then it necessarily follows that Plaintiffs’ actual substantive claims for expense reimbursement and conversion of gratuities cannot be adjudicated on a classwide basis either.

The court ruled in plaintiffs favor in certifying the class action because Uber treated all of the drivers the same:

As other courts weighing certification of employment misclassification claims have recognized, however, there is inherent tension between this argument and Uber’s position on the merits: on one hand, Uber argues that it has properly classified every single driver as an independent contractor; on the other, Uber argues that individual issues with respect to each driver’s “unique” relationship with Uber so predominate that this Court (unlike, apparently, Uber itself) cannot make a classwide determination of its drivers’ proper job classification.

Uber also made the argument that the class should not be certified because many drivers did not support the lawsuit, as demonstrated in 400 declarations it offered from the drivers.  The court noted that class member’s opposition to the class action does not necessarily bar class certification.  The court explained that it “must be mindful” of the fact that “‘the protections conferred by [these laws] have a public purpose beyond the private interests of the workers themselves.’”  In addition, the court explained that if class members do not agree with the class action, they are free to opt-out of the class action.

2.     The Borello test determines if workers are properly classified as independent contractors

The “most significant consideration” is the putative employer’s “right to control work details.”  S.G. Borello & Sons, Inc. v. Dep’t of Indus. Relations (Borello), 48 Cal. 3d 341, 350 (1989).  Recently, the California Supreme Court noted that under the right-of-control test, it is “not how much control a hirer [actually] exercises, but how much control the hirer retains the right to exercise.” Ayala, 59 Cal. 4th at 533.

The second set of factors that the court will look at under the Borello test are as follows:

a) whether the one performing services is engaged in a distinct occupation or business;

(b) the kind of occupation, with reference to whether, in the locality, the work is usually done under the direction of the principal or by a specialist without supervision;

(c) the skill required in the particular occupation;

(d) whether the principal or the worker supplies the instrumentalities, tools, and the place of work for the person doing the work;

(e) the length of time for which the services are to be performed;

(f) the method of payment, whether by the time or by the job;

(g) whether or not the work is a part of the regular business of the principal; and

(h) whether or not the parties believe they are creating the relationship of employer-employee.

Finally, the Borello test has five additional factors borrowed from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in making a determination of a worker’s classification:

(i) the alleged employee’s opportunity for profit or loss depending on his managerial skill;

(j) the alleged employee’s investment in equipment or materials required for his task, or his employment of helpers;

(k) whether the service rendered requires a special skill;

(l) the degree of permanence of the working relationship; and

(m) whether the service rendered is an integral part of the alleged employer’s business.

The court analyzed these factors and held that a class action was appropriate in this case “because all (or nearly all) of the individual elements of the Borello test themselves raise common questions which will have common answers.”

3.     It is the employer’s burden to prove the workers are independent contractors, so proceed with caution

The court noted that because Uber drivers “’render service to Uber,’ they are presumptively employees as a matter of law.  Thus, the Plaintiffs have proved their prima facie case, although the ultimate question of their employment status will need to be decided by a jury.  Therefore, the burden will be on Uber at trial to ‘disprove an employment relationship.’”

4.     Understand obligations to reimburse employees for work related expenses

The plaintiffs were also seeking to certify a class of drivers who incurred business expenses and were seeking reimbursement for these expenses under Labor Code section 2802.  While plaintiffs were not entirely clear on what items they were seeking reimbursement for, the court concluded that it appeared the main reimbursement items were for vehicle operating expenses, such as gas, maintenance, and wear and tear.  Plaintiffs, therefore, waived reimbursement claims for other items such as water, gum, and mints for passengers, and clothing costs.  I’ve written previously about employer’s obligations to reimburse drivers for mileage here.

The court noted that these reimbursement claims “can sometimes be problematic to certify as class actions because ‘there may be substantial variance as to what kind of expenses were even incurred by [the workers] in the first place” and “it may be challenging to determine on a classwide basis whether a particular expense (or type of expense) was ‘necessary’ or incurred in ‘direct consequence’ of the employee’s duties.”  The court held that it would not certify the reimbursement class at this point in time because the plaintiffs did not demonstrate that by dropping the reimbursement claims in addition to the mileage reimbursement claim was in the best interest of the class.

5.     Businesses need to be careful about how they characterize tips or service charges to customers, and understand the difference

Plaintiffs also assert that because the drivers should have been classified as employees, Uber violated Labor Code section 351, which precludes employers from taking employee’s tips.  The court granted plaintiffs’ motion for class certification on this issue based on Plaintiffs’ evidence that Uber informed its customers in advertisements that a tip for the driver was included in the cost of the fares (“When the ride is over, Uber will automatically charge your credit card on file.  No cash is necessary.  Please thank your driver, but tip is already included”; “All Uber fares include the tip….”)  Employers must be mindful about how they characterize tips and service charges, and must understand the difference between the two under the law.