LONDON, July 28 (Reuters) - Uber (UBER. N) on Friday won a ruling from London's High Court that other ride-hailing apps should also face a 20% tax charge on their profit margins.
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California's Labor Commissioner is suing Uber and Lyft for committing wage theft by willfully misclassifying drivers as independent contractors instead of employees. Misclassification deprives the drivers of basic rights under California labor law.
The Federal Court has ordered ridesharing platform Uber to pay a penalty of $21 million after Uber admitted it had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and made false or misleading representations to consumers in its app and on its website, in proceedings brought by the ACCC.
Uber has been sued countless times over the past several years by passengers who allege they were sexually assaulted while using the app. But this is the first time a federal judge will be able to make decisions for all of these cases and streamline the proceedings.
Uber has been granted a two-and-a-half year licence to operate private hire vehicles in London. The ride-hailing firm was previously denied a licence by Transport for London in November 2019. But in September 2020, a judge upheld Uber's appeal against the decision and granted it an 18-month licence.
At the time, Uber was not just one of the world's fastest-growing companies - it was one of the most controversial, dogged by court cases, allegations of sexual harassment, and data breach scandals. Eventually shareholders had enough, and Travis Kalanick was forced out in 2017.
Legal action from taxi companiesTaxi companies sued Uber in numerous American cities, alleging that Uber's policy of violating taxi regulations was a form of unfair competition or a violation of antitrust law.
Uber recently agreed to pay $8.4 million to settle a class-action lawsuit with California drivers who claimed they were misclassified as independent contractors, rather than employees. The U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California approved the settlement on July 21.
Why did Uber fail in UK? The transport authority said one main issue was a flaw in Uber's system that let unauthorized drivers sneak onto it. The drivers sidestepped rules by colluding with authorized drivers to pick up riders under their account.
Three former workers have launched employment tribunal claims in the United Kingdom against Uber, accusing the company of unfair dismissal after its facial recognition system failed to identify them.
Ride-hailing companies have struggled with supply and demand since Covid-19 took drivers off the road. Uber had to rely on incentives to bring drivers back, which ate into financials.
According to Uber's 2019 to 2020 safety report, there were 101 deaths that occurred in 91 fatal Uber accidents. Most of these collisions (32 percent) involved at least one speeding vehicle. The second highest cause was from alcohol-impaired drivers (23 percent).
Uber faces bans and restrictions in many countries, including China, Switzerland, Turkey, Denmark, Hungary, Thailand, Canada, Germany, Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, Hong Kong, and parts of Australia. The bans often stem from Uber's lack of adherence to local regulations and its unfair competition with taxi services.
Deciding to pick up someone who has been drinking. There is nothing in either Lyft's or Uber's rideshare driver rules, terms of service, or community guidelines that require you to take all passengers.
Underpaying DriversBy taking more than its fair share of the fares, Uber had underpaid its drivers all over the city for more than two years. Once the company was discovered, it agreed to pay restitution. The estimated payout per driver would be $900. Related: How much do Uber drivers make?