{"id":8988,"date":"2015-11-03T13:55:41","date_gmt":"2015-11-03T18:55:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/crcl\/?p=8988"},"modified":"2016-11-16T19:13:57","modified_gmt":"2016-11-17T00:13:57","slug":"is-uber-illegal-a-recap-of-the-conversation-with-shannon-liss-riordan-on-employment-rights-in-the-digital-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/crcl\/is-uber-illegal-a-recap-of-the-conversation-with-shannon-liss-riordan-on-employment-rights-in-the-digital-age\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Uber Illegal? A recap of the conversation with Shannon Liss-Riordan on employment rights in the digital age"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jpsOWYzL2No?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Last week, Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review hosted a conversation with Shannon Liss-Riordan about the legality of Uber classifying drivers as independent contractors instead of as employees. Liss-Riordan is an attorney at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.llrlaw.com\/\">Lichten &amp; Liss-Riordan, P.C.<\/a>, a plaintiffs\u2019-side employment and union-side law firm. She is currently representing Uber drivers in a lawsuit against Uber in California.<\/p>\n<p>With companies like Uber and Airbnb on the rise, the so-called \u201cshared economy\u201d has been a hot topic in employment law. It has caused debate over what makes someone an \u201cemployee\u201d and whether the traditional model for differentiating employees and independent contractors is well suited for the modern economy. Harvard Law Professor Benjamin Sachs, who moderated the conversation, has <a href=\"http:\/\/onlabor.org\/2015\/09\/25\/uber-employee-status-and-flexibility\/\">written extensively<\/a> on the topic, and dedicates a substantial portion of his Employment Law class to this discussion.<\/p>\n<p>Liss-Riordan seemed less persuaded that the \u201cshared-economy\u201d creates new problems. While recognizing that Uber and similar companies have created something new in how they use technology to provide services for consumers, their attempt to classify workers as independent contractors is anything but new. She noted that \u201ccompanies in a whole lot of industries for many years\u201d have tried to classify workers as independent contractors, pointing to cleaning companies, trucking companies, call centers, and adult entertainment industry as a few examples. By classifying workers and independent contractors, employers can \u201csave massively on labor costs\u201d by avoiding laws society has deemed necessary, such as minimum wage, overtime compensation, unemployment, and workers compensation. This, Liss-Riordan argues, comes at the expense of workers and taxpayers.<\/p>\n<p>Liss-Riordan does think there is a place for independent contractors, but that it has been \u201cfiercely misused and abused\u201d by employers. She was also skeptical about creating a third category of workers called \u201cdependent contractors.\u201d Many people have called for this third category as a way to deal with the modern economy, which, proponents argue, includes many workers that do not fit neatly into our traditional notions of either an employee or independent contractor. It would give workers more protection than independent contractors, but less than an employee. Liss-Riordan believes this would be an easy way out for \u201ccompanies not to provide all the protections they have had in the past,\u201d but admitted that it might be a second best option and better than the current situation. Implicit in her argument is her belief that Uber drivers actually do fit into the category of \u201cemployee\u201d easier than it has been made to seem. Professor Sachs pushed back on this assumption earlier in the conversation, and neither Sachs nor Liss-Riordan were able to give an easy test to distinguish someone who is \u201creally\u201d an independent contractor from someone who is \u201creally\u201d an employee.<\/p>\n<p>Liss-Riordan also gave advice to Harvard Law students interested in public interest. She encouraged students to follow their heart rather than doing what everyone else does. When asked about whether people should stop patronizing Uber, she recognized the limitations of promoting change through consumer boycott, and suggested people increase awareness about the issues and tip their drivers.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week, Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review hosted a conversation with Shannon Liss-Riordan about the legality of Uber classifying 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