Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian ruled this week in a four-page opinion that Uber drivers are employees and not independent contractors.

“Oregon’s worker protections are in place for a reason,” Avakian wrote in a statement. “When corporations misclassify an employee, the worker is denied basic protections such as the right to be paid on time and in full. It also creates an unfair playing field for other employers who pay employment taxes, minimum wage and workers’ compensation insurance.”

San Francisco-based Uber called the ruling “full of assertions that are plain wrong.” Uber is also fighting a class-action lawsuit by a group of its drivers who claim they are owed wages and benefits as employees.


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