Ex-Grubhub Driver Wins 8-Year Legal Battle in California Court, Gets $65

After astir a decennary of courtroom arguments and appeals, 1 California antheral is yet emerging victorious successful a protracted ineligible combat against Grubhub.

Raef Lawson, a erstwhile Grubhub operator and aspiring actor/comedian/writer, has won his lawsuit against the company. His complaint, archetypal filed successful 2015, is present settled. And for each those years of hearings, filings, and briefings Lawson’s triumph has netted him an astounding...$65 payout.

More important than the fiscal result here, though, is the ineligible precedent the lawsuit sets. The ruling could fundamentally change however “gig economy” companies similar Grubhub, Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash dainty their workers successful the California.

Lawson’s lawsuit hinged connected whether helium was a contractor successful his little 4 period stint delivering nutrient for Grubhub, oregon an employee—entitled to minimum wage, overtime, and different benefits. An archetypal 2018 ruling sided with the company, and denied Lawson worker status. But aft an entreaty to the Ninth Circuit and a remand backmost down to the aforesaid territory court, Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley has present ruled that, nether California laws, Lawson was legally a Grubhub employee.

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“Mr. Lawson is decently classified arsenic an employee, not an autarkic contractor, for purposes of his minimum wage and overtime claims,” wrote Judge Corley. “He is entitled to judgement connected his minimum wage assertion (count 2 of the complaint) with damages successful the magnitude of $65.11,” the bid adds. The plaintiff wasn’t awarded immoderate overtime, arsenic the tribunal ruled his compensable clip worked ne'er exceeded 4o hours successful a week. Still, 65 bucks isn’t excessively shabby erstwhile it comes with worker status.

Employees person galore much rights than autarkic contractors and are legally guaranteed galore much benefits from their employers similar overtime and entree to unemployment insurance. Gig workers person been warring to beryllium recognized arsenic employees for years now, and successful places similar California they are opening to marque headway. Between Judge Corley’s archetypal and past rulings successful Lawson’s case, the authorities instrumentality changed. AB5, a landmark portion of legislation, passed successful 2019—thus mounting stricter standards protecting workers and instituting a caller acceptable of criteria for what is/isn’t an employee. 

It’s connected these precocious instituted criteria that Thursday’s ruling is based. Corley decided that the Grubhub/Lawson narration didn’t fulfill the alleged ABC test for declaration work, and that Grubhub wasn’t eligible for an objection to the ABCs. Under the test, a idiosyncratic tin lone beryllium considered a contractor if they conscionable 3 requirements:

• The idiosyncratic is escaped from the power and absorption of the hiring entity successful transportation with the show of the work, some nether the declaration for the show of the enactment and successful fact;
• The idiosyncratic performs enactment that is extracurricular the accustomed people of the hiring entity’s business; and
• The idiosyncratic is customarily engaged successful an independently established trade, occupation, oregon concern of the aforesaid quality arsenic that progressive successful the enactment performed.

Obviously, delivering nutrient for Grubhub does subordinate to the company’s main business. After all, that is Grubhub’s full business. The justice agreed. “The accustomed people of its concern is connecting restaurants with diners to facilitate nutrient ordering. Food transportation is not extracurricular the accustomed people of that business,” ruled Corley. “Because Grubhub has not established Prong B, it does not conscionable the ABC trial and Mr. Lawson is decently classified arsenic an worker for purposes of his minimum wage and overtime claims.”

The question of however companies built connected the backs of gig workers person to categorize those drivers/couriers/Task Rabbits/etc... is simply a long-standing 1 that aggregate states person been grappling with. Last year, Massachusetts’ Supreme Court ruled against a ballot measure that would’ve designated each gig workers arsenic autarkic contractors. Other states, similar Georgia, Alabama, and Florida person favored the corporations. 

Yet those authorities decisions could go moot if Biden’s Department of Labor successfully institutes a projected federal regularisation guaranteeing gig workers worker status. Rideshare and transportation companies person travel retired successful beardown absorption to the rule. Most recently, Uber and Lyft’s commercialized radical person publically questioned the merit of Biden’s caller DOL nominee arsenic the companies effort to undermine idiosyncratic rights.

The entirety of Thursday’s California ruling is embedded below.