The War On Uber Comes to Massachusetts

Governments, taxi cartels and labor unions have been going after Uber, the smartphone-enabled taxi service that threatens the taxi regulatory status quo, across the United States. Most recently, Virginia ordered a shut-down of the service. Now, labor advocate Shannon Liass-Riorden, who has filed suit against Uber before, has sued Uber for violating Massachusetts labor law.

The suit filed Thursday in Suffolk County Superior Court in Boston by Shannon Liss-Riordan, who has won major labor lawsuits representing Starbucks baristas, house cleaners, skycaps, and exotic dancers, accuses Uber of misclassifying its drivers as independent contractors to avoid paying them the same as employees with benefits.
The suit also accuses Uber of not giving drivers all the money they receive in gratuities from riders, that the company “retains a portion of the gratuity for itself.” That alleged conduct violates the Massachusetts tips law, said Liss-Riordan.

Liss-Riorden has a long history of going after companies she doesn't like, the Boston Globe notes. She's gone after FedEx and Starbucks in the past, winning multi-million dollar lawsuits against them.

Via Brian Doherty.