[mrrobj]

Hey everyone,

I filed a lawsuit to force Uber into Arbitration and they reluctantly agreed to pay for the Arbitration......after a lot of back and forth. Shortly before the arbitration began, Uber began providing settlement offers. I agreed to a settlement but after reviewing the settlement agreements, I noticed it included a provision, which stated that BOTH parties have agreed that we would end the relationship and that I would no longer drive with Uber or use its driver's app.

I honestly do not care, as I plan on living overseas in the very near future anyway and was only plan on driving for another year.

Curiously, they never mentioned or discussed that this provision was going to be included. When I objected to having this in the settlement agreement, Uber's lawyer indicated that this was "standard procedure" and "included with all their settlement agreements". Since settlement agreements are "confidential", I really have no way in verifying this. However, I believe I read posts in which other Uber drivers stated they recd payouts and I do not believe they mentioned they were terminated from the platform. In addition, I reviewed the proposed settlement agreement from California and did not see any such provision.

In my opinion, this is clearly retaliation and against the law. I informed them i wanted to re-negotiate the settlement amount if this provision stays and, if they refused, I want to proceed with my Court case and Arbitration proceedings.

I also advised them that I was filing a retaliation charge with the EEOC, as I have a right to initiate a legal proceeding against them and not be subject to retaliation. (FYI.....I have a law degree, but never worked as a lawyer, but did a lot of paralegal work for law firms in the past.)

After sending an email to their Attorney last week about the above mentioned, he went silent and still haven't heard from in. In the past, he always responded right away.

Has anyone experience the same?

 

[ChrisFZ]

So your point is?

 

[New guy65]

The attorney is probably home avoiding corona virus

 

[mrrobj]

So your point is?

Just wanted to share my experience with the forum......

 

[2015fit]

Stick it to them buddy 💪

 

[OP-Matt]

Why would you want to continue to work for an organization that wronged you so hard you were forced to file suit against them? Seems like an agreement to terminate the relationship would be a natural part of a settlement?

 

[mrrobj]

No, it would not be a natural part of any settlement in an Employer-employee situation. It would be against the law. You have a 1st amendment right to re-dress of grievances. You have right to file a court action and not be subject to retaliation.

 

[UberServant]

No, it would not be a natural part of any settlement in an Employer-employee situation. It would be against the law. You have a 1st amendment right to re-dress of grievances. You have right to file a court action and not be subject to retaliation.

What was your grievance with them in the first place?

 

[mrrobj]

Misclassification as a Contractor, which included failure to reimburse for work related expenses....

 

[Cpw]

Misclassification as a Contractor, which included failure to reimburse for work related expenses....

Can you represent me. I'll give you the standard 33% if you win my case

 

[bpm45]

No, it would not be a natural part of any settlement in an Employer-employee situation. It would be against the law. You have a 1st amendment right to re-dress of grievances. You have right to file a court action and not be subject to retaliation.

The first amendment guaranteed you the right to petition government
for redress of grievances. It says nothing about contractual agreements between private parties, for that there is the civil court system. You say you went to law school?

 

[OP-Matt]

Misclassification as a Contractor, which included failure to reimburse for work related expenses....

Let's assume that Uber is NEVER going to allow an arbitration to happen that might result in you actually being called an employee. Thus they offered a small but decent settlement to make you go away. Yet, you aren't going away for some reason?

People such as yourself are the reason why my Uncle had a 30yr career as a public employee union rep, representing sh1tty employees filing grievances against their government employers when they felt slighted, winning settlements, remaining employed, and remaining a sh1t employee to repeat the whole process over again.

You know they are just going to continue to stall until you waste more time or $$ filing more court actions. They gave you the chance to walk away with something more than you had.

So you are asking if anyone here has wasted this much time on their own to try to win this kind of case against Uber? You are more likely to find folks that have experienced an actual significant loss as a result of Uber's action/inaction that have wasted less time getting made whole than you.

 

[mrrobj]

The filing of a court action is a "protected" act, to which is the same as the "right to petition government".

Furthermore, multiple Courts have already ruled our relationship with Uber is an Employer-employee relationship and subject to workplace protections.

 

[PeAceMaKer769]

I commend you for your suit.

However you can’t have it both ways.

You can’t say they suck as an employer and you want to work for that employer.

It is morally corrupt.

 

[mrrobj]

Let's assume that Uber is NEVER going to allow an arbitration to happen that might result in you actually being called an employee. Thus they offered a small but decent settlement to make you go away. Yet, you aren't going away for some reason?

People such as yourself are the reason why my Uncle had a 30yr career as a public employee union rep, representing sh1tty employees filing grievances against their government employers when they felt slighted, winning settlements, remaining employed, and remaining a sh1t employee to repeat the whole process over again.

You know they are just going to continue to stall until you waste more time or $$ filing more court actions. They gave you the chance to walk away with something more than you had.

So you are asking if anyone here has wasted this much time on their own to try to win this kind of case against Uber? You are more likely to find folks that have experienced an actual significant loss as a result of Uber's action/inaction that have wasted less time getting made whole than you.

Uber is literally getting away with murder on the backs of Uber drivers and failing to pay a variety of expenses most Employers have to pay out. So spare me your arguments on their behalf.

You stated, "Employees filing grievances.....when they felt slighted.....".

First of all, you do not know my situation with Uber. In addition to not being fairly compensation for years of driving, I was also injured in an accident, while driving with Uber, and do in fact have significant losses.

And I not worried about Uber stalling, as I am in control of our proceedings and they are the ones that currently trying to get to "stay" the proceedings in Court, as we speak.

FYI.....we are not talking about a small, insignificant settlement either....

I commend you for your suit.

However you can't have it both ways.

You can't say they suck as an employer and you want to work for that employer.

It is morally corrupt.

Agreed! But as I previously mentioned, I am not trying to continue to work for Uber, but on the same token, I am not going to let them continue to violate my rights.

Can you represent me. I'll give you the standard 33% if you win my case

I never passed the bar in Illinois and therefore cannot legally represent you or advise you in legal matters. Nonetheless, I can share with you what I did and how I processed my paperwork with Uber. Send me PM......

The first amendment guaranteed you the right to petition government
for redress of grievances. It says nothing about contractual agreements between private parties, for that there is the civil court system. You say you went to law school?

The filing of a court action is a "protected" act, to which is the same as the "right to petition government".

Furthermore, multiple Courts have already ruled our relationship with Uber is an Employer-employee relationship and subject to workplace protections.

 

[OP-Matt]

First of all, you do not know my situation with Uber. In addition to not being fairly compensation for years of driving, I was also injured in an accident, while driving with Uber, and do in fact have significant losses.

Ok...but that's not what you wrote in the original post.

 

[bpm45]

The filing of a court action is a "protected" act, to which is the same as the "right to petition government".

Furthermore, multiple Courts have already ruled our relationship with Uber is an Employer-employee relationship and subject to workplace protections.

Contesting a contractual arrangement in court is not the same thing as a first amendment right. Filing suit demands a response if the plaintiff has standing. Petitioning the government does not require a response from government.

Some courts have ruled, but these aren't rulings with national force, and these courts have frequently been overturned on appeal.

 

[mrrobj]

Contesting a contractual arrangement in court is not the same thing as a first amendment right. Filing suit demands a response if the plaintiff has standing. Petitioning the government does not require a response from government.

Some courts have ruled, but these aren't rulings with national force, and these courts have frequently been overturned on appeal.

I never stated contesting a contractual agreement was a 1st amendment right, I stated the act of filing a Court action was.

You appear to allege I have no standing, because Uber is a private corporation, and not a government body. However, retaliation is a form of discrimination, protected under the Civil Rights Act, regardless if your a government organization or private employer.

And, because of the flood of complaints of this nature in the past, you are required to initially address your violations of this nature with your State's EEOC office, before you are allowed to file an action in Court.

 

[Nu1]

The attorney is probably home avoiding corona virus

But he can always work from home and write OP an email.

Can you represent me. I'll give you the standard 33% if you win my case

Be aware, you might not be able to work for uber in the future 😂😂😂😂, just saying.

Hey everyone,

I filed a lawsuit to force Uber into Arbitration and they reluctantly agreed to pay for the Arbitration......after a lot of back and forth. Shortly before the arbitration began, Uber began providing settlement offers. I agreed to a settlement but after reviewing the settlement agreements, I noticed it included a provision, which stated that BOTH parties have agreed that we would end the relationship and that I would no longer drive with Uber or use its driver's app.

I honestly do not care, as I plan on living overseas in the very near future anyway and was only plan on driving for another year.

Curiously, they never mentioned or discussed that this provision was going to be included. When I objected to having this in the settlement agreement, Uber's lawyer indicated that this was "standard procedure" and "included with all their settlement agreements". Since settlement agreements are "confidential", I really have no way in verifying this. However, I believe I read posts in which other Uber drivers stated they recd payouts and I do not believe they mentioned they were terminated from the platform. In addition, I reviewed the proposed settlement agreement from California and did not see any such provision.

In my opinion, this is clearly retaliation and against the law. I informed them i wanted to re-negotiate the settlement amount if this provision stays and, if they refused, I want to proceed with my Court case and Arbitration proceedings.

I also advised them that I was filing a retaliation charge with the EEOC, as I have a right to initiate a legal proceeding against them and not be subject to retaliation. (FYI.....I have a law degree, but never worked as a lawyer, but did a lot of paralegal work for law firms in the past.)

After sending an email to their Attorney last week about the above mentioned, he went silent and still haven't heard from in. In the past, he always responded right away.

Has anyone experience the same?

If you are happy with the settlement just go for it.....you are also saying that you don't want to work for them anymore. This is an easy one.....too many principles, not good.
Good luck, my take is to get the money you agreed with ( assuming you are happy with the amount).

 

[SatMan]

It is only a standard agreement because that’s what they want. When you rent an apartment you sign a “standard agreement“. You can add or change anything you want if both parties agree to it. That’s called negotiating the contract. A standard agreement usually protects only one of the parties.

Do your own due diligence and send them a copy of your standard contract as it pertains to you.