Despite Charge by Passenger, a Driver is reinstated

In Taxi & Limousine Comm’n v. Zagre, a driver was arrested after being accused of assault by a passenger and was then suspended by the TLC. This kind of scenario seems to be the worst for a driver. Still, OATH recommended reinstatement based on credible evidence showing that it was the driver who called the police...

Uber Pushing to Stop Drivers from Being Treated as Employees

For years, Uber and Lyft along with other so-called gig-economy companies have been battling in courts to prevent their drivers from being deemed employees. The driver may seem to work for Uber and they may look like taxi drivers, but neither is true, Uber has always said. Now the battle has moved to legislatures. This...

Bargaining Rights for App-Based Workers

An effort backed by the New York State AFL-CIO would create a new bargaining scheme for app-based workers without addressing the question of whether or not these workers are legally “employees.” Workers for apps like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash are currently considered independent contractors; most in the labor movement consider them misclassified, a tactic the...

TLC Will no Longer Test NYC drivers for Marijuana

The TLC has announced it will stop testing drivers for marijuana. Why now? Because pot is now legal in New York State. But why did it ever test for the drug in the first place? It’s well known that the residue of the drug can stay in a user’s system for weeks. So if a driver...