Hundreds of drivers for the ride-sharing app Via claim they went for a ride with false promises of big bucks, according to court papers.
More than 800 drivers for the New York-based company claim Via misclassified them as independent contractors in order to deprive them of high salaries and job security.
The dispute is similar to a dispute with ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft, who have fought against efforts to force them to consider their driver employees who are on benefits.
Via reportedly advertised higher earnings for those who signed up to drive, but failed to clarify how much the gig would cost drivers, according to two workers who recently Filing in the Manhattan Supreme Court, he earned less than the minimum wage.
After taxes and costs, Gideon Ittenberg of Queens claimed in legal filings that he earned just $ 4.69 an hour driving for Via, well below the $ 15 per hour minimum wage in New York City, to add the company “fees.” And the multitude of costs “never explained. Via refused to pay either, went to me [to] Cover or deduction from my earnings
Ittenberg signed in November 2017 to earn a “dire need for cash”.
Ittenberg and driver Felix Lam, who say they earned $ 9 to $ 11 an hour for Via, are now fighting for their day in court, claiming Via agreed to any dispute behind closed doors to them Forced to agree to be, but each driver wants to pay at least 17,000. In the first fee
Ride-sharing company, which operates in more than 20 countries and also partners with governments and schools to provide transportation, forbids drivers to come together to fight their claims and reduce costs is.
“I don’t mind what I do,” Ittenberg raged in the litigation, which forced Via to pay arbitration costs or to pursue a claim collectively or in another forum. Attempts to grant permission.
“Via refuses to submit to arbitration, refuses to pay costs to initiate arbitration, and … the costs of arbitration are intentional, absurd and unnecessarily higher than almost any alternative , ”Attorney Mark Held noted in the legal filing.
Via did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
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