Uber's Contract Workers Lose Court Bid To Be Classified As Employees

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- Uber picked up a win in court Wednesday as the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of appeals has ruled that most of the company's contract workers must resolve their differences through individual actions, rather than as a group.

The ruling applies to a lawsuit challenging Uber's background check practices, but the reasoning likely also applies to the high-profile case over whether drivers should be classified as employees rather than contractors, the Wall Street Journal reported.

In that class-action suit, Uber had agreed to pay up to $100 million dollars to some 385-thousand divers in two states, but a federal judge rejected that proposal last month.

The ruling is seen as a setback for labor advocates who had hoped the classification suit would proceed to trial and set a precedent for workers participating in the so-called gig economy.

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