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Are they really trying to claim that Uber is not a transportation company but instead "a technology platform for several different types of digital marketplaces

Are they really trying to claim that Uber is not a transportation company but instead "a technology platform for several different types of digital marketplaces"? I guess we do live in a post-truth era.

sharkmerry 7y ago
This is how they've always been. Uber's "customers" are the drivers. They are buying access to the platform, thats how they categorize driver bonuses and incentives to "marketing" expenses apparently
joeyrideout 7y ago
The post was written by their CLO. They are not trying to claim as such, they are succeeding. I am not a lawyer, but I don't think this legal interpretation of the company is a lie. It seems like the classification is constantly under scrutiny. A legal falsehood like you claim it is would've fallen apart by now.
- FireBeyond 7y ago
  Lawyers argue all the time. It's not a legal truth because their chief attorney says so. They are entitled to claim (within reason) as much as anyone else is. And, of course, they will claim the most favorable definition. In other situations, notably when they are arguing against entrenched transit/transport interests, they "become" a transport company. It's a question of which hat fits the day.
  - dymk 7y ago
    FTA: > But just because the test is hard does not mean we will not be able to pass it. In fact, several previous rulings have found that drivers’ work is outside the usual course of Uber’s business, which is serving as a technology platform for several different types of digital marketplaces. Previous rulings have found his statement to be accurate. So you don't have to take his word for it, you can take a judge's.
    - stilist 7y ago
      Those rulings were made without the context of the new law, though, so the results may be different.
      - shkkmo 7y ago
        AB5 just codifies the precedent under which those rulings were made.
sgustard 7y ago
eBay is a marketplace because people have always bought and sold stuff. There was no pre-existing marketplace of drivers looking to drive people around for money before Uber came along.
shkkmo 7y ago
I don't think any of Ubers claims are changed in this post. This post just claims that AB5 changes nothing for Uber because Uber is already operating under the Dynamex precedent.
- shkkmo 7y ago
  The post truth era is people claiming this bill adds protections for gig workers when it's actual effect is to limit those protections from applying to the lawmakers buddies and donors.
obstacle1 7y ago
> I guess we do live in a post-truth era. Lawyers and representatives have been making stretch arguments for the entities they represent for centuries. Did you really expect the company's legal group to not try and argue around this? Why do you think they have jobs?
HaloZero 7y ago
I have no idea how they're going to get past the 3rd part of Dynamex. Was it not encoded into AB5? (C) that the worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as the work performed.
- solidasparagus 7y ago
  Given how many drivers drive for both Lyft and Uber, I feel like that is not a particularly hard case to make, but IANAL

sharkmerry 7y ago

This is how they've always been. Uber's "customers" are the drivers. They are buying access to the platform, thats how they categorize driver bonuses and incentives to "marketing" expenses apparently

joeyrideout 7y ago

The post was written by their CLO. They are not trying to claim as such, they are succeeding. I am not a lawyer, but I don't think this legal interpretation of the company is a lie. It seems like the classification is constantly under scrutiny. A legal falsehood like you claim it is would've fallen apart by now.

FireBeyond 7y ago
Lawyers argue all the time. It's not a legal truth because their chief attorney says so. They are entitled to claim (within reason) as much as anyone else is. And, of course, they will claim the most favorable definition. In other situations, notably when they are arguing against entrenched transit/transport interests, they "become" a transport company. It's a question of which hat fits the day.
- dymk 7y ago
  FTA: > But just because the test is hard does not mean we will not be able to pass it. In fact, several previous rulings have found that drivers’ work is outside the usual course of Uber’s business, which is serving as a technology platform for several different types of digital marketplaces. Previous rulings have found his statement to be accurate. So you don't have to take his word for it, you can take a judge's.
  - stilist 7y ago
    Those rulings were made without the context of the new law, though, so the results may be different.
    - shkkmo 7y ago
      AB5 just codifies the precedent under which those rulings were made.

sgustard 7y ago

eBay is a marketplace because people have always bought and sold stuff. There was no pre-existing marketplace of drivers looking to drive people around for money before Uber came along.

shkkmo 7y ago

I don't think any of Ubers claims are changed in this post. This post just claims that AB5 changes nothing for Uber because Uber is already operating under the Dynamex precedent.

shkkmo 7y ago
The post truth era is people claiming this bill adds protections for gig workers when it's actual effect is to limit those protections from applying to the lawmakers buddies and donors.

obstacle1 7y ago

> I guess we do live in a post-truth era. Lawyers and representatives have been making stretch arguments for the entities they represent for centuries. Did you really expect the company's legal group to not try and argue around this? Why do you think they have jobs?

HaloZero 7y ago

I have no idea how they're going to get past the 3rd part of Dynamex. Was it not encoded into AB5? (C) that the worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as the work performed.

solidasparagus 7y ago
Given how many drivers drive for both Lyft and Uber, I feel like that is not a particularly hard case to make, but IANAL