Uber wins appeal in Brazil, court says drivers are not employees
Reuters
Published Feb 05, 2020 09:18PM ET
Uber wins appeal in Brazil, court says drivers are not employees
BRASILIA (Reuters) - A Brazilian higher court for labor ruled on Wednesday that there was no employment relationship between Uber (NYSE:UBER) and its drivers, siding with the ride-hailing company against a Sao Paulo driver.
The federal judge in Brasilia ruled against recognizing an employer-employee link, arguing that Uber drivers can disconnect at any time from the app and have a flexible work schedule.
Until today, lower courts had decided on labor issues involving Uber, but now a federal court has ruled and its decision, while not binding for other similar cases, is expected to set the standard.
The ruling was welcomed by Uber, which said in a statement it supported dozens of previous decisions in Brazilian courts establishing that its drivers are not employees.
Uber had argued that its platform is a digital intermediary, not an employer, and that drivers accept that condition when they sign on.
Brazil is the second-biggest market for Uber after the United States, and Sao Paulo is its top city by number of rides, ahead of a metropolis like New York.
The company said the court had recognized the innovative character of its platform that partners with more than 600,000 drivers in over 100 cities in Brazil, serving more than 22 million people who use it app.
The federal labor judge, Breno Medeiros, found that the wide flexibility of the drivers in terms of deciding where they want to drive and the number of customers they serve each day was "incompatible" with an employer-employee relationship.
Medeiros said the take-home pay of drivers from each ride, between 75% and 80% of the total fare, was enough to characterize the relationship with Uber as a partnership.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.