[chi1cabby]

The Forum has a long Featured Thread by grams777, that's become somewhat unwieldy for Drivers to glean pertinent info from.
New US Uber Partner Agreement - Dec 11, 2015 (Arbitration)
So I've compiled this post as a repository of concise & narrowly focused info on the New Partner Agreement (PA), it's Binding Arbitration Provision (BAP), Opting Out of BAP & on #UberLAWSUIT.
The companion Poll is being run as an Ongoing Poll to gauge sentiment on Opting Out amongst future New Forum Members.

On Wednesday 12/09/15, San Francisco Federal Court Judge Chen issued Two Rulings in California Drivers' lawsuit against Uber on worker classification & tips:

1. The Judge ruled that the Binding Arbitration Provisions (BAP) of Uber's June 2014 and November 2014 Partnership Agreements (PA) were unenforceable.
2. The Judge also ruled that the Drivers can pursue reimbursement for Vehicle Expenses, which he'd previously excluded.

On Friday 12/11/15 Uber sent to All of it's 400,000 U.S. Drivers a New Partnership Agreement (PA) with:

• Updated Binding Arbitration Provision (BAP).
• Updated Terms & Conditions of other aspects of Drivers' contract with Uber.

Drivers have to Accept the New Partnership Agreement (PA) in order to be able to login to the Partner App and work. After Drivers have Accepted the full PA, Drivers have the Legal Right to Opt-out of The Binding Arbitration Provision (BAP) of the New PA.

Drivers have 30 Days, from the date they accept the New PA, to Opt-out of the BAP. Drivers can Opt-out by emailing Uber's General Counsel at [email protected]. For your records, CC the Opt-out email to yourself, as you will not receive a reply back from Uber.

This is a sample Opt-out email:

To: [email protected]
CC: (Your email address)

Subject: Opting Out of Binding Arbitration Provision

Date: (Today's Date)

I, (Your Name), hereby notify Uber & Rasier LLC of my intent to Opt-out of The Binding Arbitration Provision of Rasier Technologies Services Agreement.

I have from here onwards elected to Opt Out of the Binding Arbitration Provision of the Partner Agreement.

Your Name
Your Phone Number
Your Postal Address (Optional)
​

Some Questions & Answers on PA & BAP
Q: Why should I Opt-out of the BAP?

• Opting Out of the BAP preserves a Driver's Right to pursue resolution of any dispute with Uber in a Court of Law.
• A Driver who has not Opted Out cannot even file a Small Claims Court case against Uber.
• A Driver can join any current or future Class Action Lawsuit against Uber, if he/she is eligible.
• A Driver who has Opted Out of BAP, can still resolve a dispute with Uber by Arbitration, if he/she so chooses. Read more about Uber's Arbitration here: Binding Arbitration | Here's Uber's Plan To Screw Over Drivers Who Have A Complaint
• Opting Out of the BAP is literally the only decision that a Driver has absolute control over in his/her relationship with Uber. Besides the choice of what hours a Driver chooses to work, Uber can & does exercise unilateral control over All aspects of a Driver operations.

Q: By Opting Out, am I joining the Class Action #UberLAWSUIT against Uber?

• NO! Opting Out has absolutely nothing to do with #UberLAWSUIT.
• Till now the #UberLAWSUIT is limited to California Drivers only. CA Drivers have to make a separate decision on whether to join or not join the Class.
• Drivers' Atty. Shannon Lis-Riordan (SLR) has stated that she intends to file cases to pursue claims of Drivers in other States.

Q: If I Opt-out, will/can Uber retaliate against me by Deactivating me?

• A Driver's Opt-out email goes to Uber's General Counsel, who is an Officer of the Court.
• A Driver's Opt-out Status is Not shared with local Uber Operations Teams.
• There are many Well Known Forum Members who Opted Out in Nov 2014 and are still Active Drivers.

Q: Besides the Updated BAP, what else has been updated in the New PA?

• I haven't yet compared in detail the Old PA with the New PA. This is a screenshot from the 1st page of a 43 pages-long Microsoft Word comparison between the Old Nov 10, 2014 & the New Dec 10, 2015 PAs.
• The Underlined Text in Red is new addition to the New Dec 2015 PA.
• The Strike Through Text in Red was present in the old Nov 2014 PA, but is deleted in the New Dec 2015 PA.
• 43 Page Comparison pdf (588KB): https://www.dropbox.com/s/q1fhqntuv759k67/PA Comparison.pdf?dl=0

Some Questions & Answers on #UberLAWSUIT
Q: What is the #UberLAWSUIT filed by Drivers about?

• The Lawsuit is about how Drivers, while being classified as ICs, have No Control over their IC operation, except the hours they choose to drive (Flexibility). Yet Uber exercises unilateral & excessive control over the daily routine operations of it's IC Drivers, in essence treating them as Employees, but without any of the benefits.
• The Lawsuit was originally filed on behalf of all U.S. Drivers, but Judge Chen has so far limited it to California Drivers only.
• That Uber illegally represented to Riders that Gratuities (Tips) were included in the Fare.

Q: If Drivers win the Lawsuit, will I be forced to become an Employee?

• NO! "Even if Uber loses this case, it will be free to restructure its relationship with its drivers in such a way that the drivers would actually be bona fide independent contractors," Chen wrote in a 68-page decision. Analysis: Uber will survive, no matter what courts decide
  

Q: But what about the flexibility that I enjoy as a Driver?

• Despite Uber's Arguments, Flexibility for Employees Is a Company's Choice

Q: What would an average Driver win in a judgment award?

• Drivers' Vehicle related expenses would be the biggest chunk of any judgement award.
  The Judge has accepted the IRS mileage reimbursement rate of¢57.5 per Mile as a reasonable figure.
• Based on survey data from SherpaShare, the average Uber driver, full-time and part-time, puts in nearly 24 hours a week.The average speed in cities around the country where Uber is most used appears to be around 20 miles per hour. That means the average Uber driver covers about 475 miles a week.
• That calculates to an average of $273.13 a week, or just over $13,000 a year per driver.

A few final thoughts:

• In Nov 2014, Uber took away Drivers' Right to Opt-out of BAP whenever Uber modified the PA by adding wording to the Modification Clause in the Nov 2014 PA. This wording was not present in June 2014 PA. (The wording is also present in Dec 2015 PA.)
• Ever since the addition of this wording, I have been a strong advocate for New Drivers to read their PA, and Opt-out of the BAP within the 30 Day window.
• Now, thanks to Judge Chen, ALL Drivers have been given a second chance to Opt-out of The Binding Arbitration Provision, and gain a measure of equity in their relationship with Uber.

Please ask questions on anything that I've posted above or overlooked to post on.

Thank you!

 

[chi1cabby]

Please post this thread on any Drivers FB Groups that you might be a member of.

Goober, or anyone else, can you please post this on Uber Drivers on Reddit.

Thank you!

 

[Gemgirlla]

The Forum has a long Featured Thread by grams777, that's become somewhat unwieldy for Drivers to glean pertinent info from.
New US Uber Partner Agreement - Dec 11, 2015 (Arbitration)

You're amazing! This is so informative and professional. Shannon should hire you. Thanks for the redline as well. It is interesting to see all of the various amendments, even the one's that don't seem to be significant are no doubt important. I think Uber has hired better lawyers to draft the agreement this time.

I do find it a bit unconscionable that Uber expects drivers to read and digest such a lengthy and complicated legal contract on an smart phone before being allowed to continue to work. In most situations, a person would have a reasonable amount of time to seek counsel to review an agreement before accepting. I'm sure close to 100% of the drivers just accepted the new agreement without reading it so they could logon and make money.

Is it possible to also post this on the Los Angeles page?

 

[OrlUberOffDriver]

I have not done any rides as of the new SA and I only plan to do the required 1 ride per month just to stay active.

 

[PTB]

for California Drivers only,
if you OPT-OUT of Dec 11, 2015 (Arbitration)
are you then part of the current Class-Action lawsuit??
I would assume YES?

i found this ========

How do I join a class action?
A. Generally, before a court certifies a class action, it must conclude that there are too many class members for them all to be named as parties in the lawsuit. Technically, class members do not "join" into the litigation, but decide to participate by not "opting-out." It is only in rare instances when a suit is filed as an "opt-in" class action. In those rare instances, a claim form or request to join form may be necessary. Ordinarily, the notice issued to class members in the usual suit for compensatory damages will tell the class if they need to take any action to participate. In a suit for compensatory damages, any class member who does not "opt-out" may be bound by the results of the litigation if it proceeds as a class action. If a class member should determine, however, that he wants to participate in the suit as a named party, he may hire his own lawyer and seek to intervene (participate) in the lawsuit.

 

[chi1cabby]

for California Drivers only,
if you OPT-OUT of Dec 11, 2015 (Arbitration)
are you then part of the current Class-Action lawsuit??
I would assume YES?

Opting Out of the Binding Arbitration Provision of the Partner Agreement is a separate decision than joining the Class Action #UberLAWSUIT. All Drivers, from California & other US States, should Opt-out of Binding Arbitration Provision.

Q: By Opting Out, am I joining the Class Action #UberLAWSUIT against Uber?

California Drivers, past & present, are eligible to join the #UberLAWSUIT. They can do so by contacting the Law Firm representing the Drivers at www.UberLAWSUIT.Com

 

[PTB]

California Drivers, past & present, are eligible to join the #UberLAWSUIT. They can do so by contacting the Law Firm representing the Drivers at www.UberLAWSUIT.Com

ok, I sent email to the Law Firm and asked whether CA Uber driver must contact them to join Class Action or it was automatic as long as you
OPT-OUT of arbitration.

common sense tells me Law Firm does not require 160,000 emails from CA Uber drivers requesting to join Class Action.

let's see how they respond

 

[S-Uber-U]

I was going to call them tomorrow to inquire about just that! Please keep us updated.

 

[chi1cabby]

let's see how they respond

Please post if you find out the breakdown of the split of any judgement award between the Attorneys & the Drivers.
Thanx!

 

[Gemgirlla]

I will ask the Admin about what is the best way to post it on other sub forums.

Hopefully, they will let you. It would be very helpful for them to see the entire post not just the link to it, which some probably won't realize why it's so important to clink the link

 

[Kenja]

I will ask the Admin about what is the best way to post it on other sub forums.

I'm posting it on ubers Facebook.

 

[chi1cabby]

Kenja's post on my profile:
"I'm sort of confused still. I work in reno nevada. So in this case I should agree to the agreement then opt out and send the email right ? After I do this. I should Not drive or am I safe to drive?"

Hi Kenja,
All Drivers have to, and should, agree to the New Partner Agreement before they can login to the App and drive.
After Drivers have Accepted the agreement, they should send an email to Opt-out of the Binding Arbitration Provision.
Yes, Drivers are good to Drive anytime.

 

[Kenja]

Right one thanks for posting all that you posted. I don't know you. But I really appreciate what you have done. Thanks a million!

 

[Kenja]

I will ask the Admin about what is the best way to post it on other sub forums.

Better yet I should post it on ubers Facebook before I agree with the agreement and opt out huh?

 

[airportsedan]

Opting Out of the Binding Arbitration Provision of the Partner Agreement is a separate decision than joining the Class Action #UberLAWSUIT. All Drivers, from California & other US States, should Opt-out of Binding Arbitration Provision.
California Drivers, past & present, are eligible to join the #UberLAWSUIT. They can do so by contacting the Law Firm representing the Drive

Opting Out of the Binding Arbitration Provision of the Partner Agreement is a separate decision than joining the Class Action #UberLAWSUIT. All Drivers, from California & other US States, should Opt-out of Binding Arbitration Provision.
California Drivers, past & present, are eligible to join the #UberLAWSUIT. They can do so by contacting the Law Firm representing the Drivers

I just visited the link provided above.
I am a DBA with a TCP# does this mean that I am exempt from joining the class action lawsuit as a California driver?

 

[chi1cabby]

I just visited the link provided above.
I am a DBA with a TCP# does this mean that I am exempt from joining the class action lawsuit as a California driver?

Hi airportsedan, welcome to the Forum!

This is the sub class of Drivers that Judge Chen excluded from the Class Action #UberLAWSUIT in his Ruling on Wednesday 12/9/15:
"Chen denied plaintiffs' request to certify a subclass of plaintiffs who drove through intermediary limo companies or used corporate names."

I would contact the Shannon Lis-Riordan's office to ascertain if your DBA excludes you from the Class Action.

 

[Egatnivdetsiwt]

Just opted out. Thanks for the help!

 

[borrowedtune]

This whole forum is one big Uber lawsuit recruitment tool.

What is the benefit of not opting out?

 

[Roman M]

Thank you for this. I sent them an email to opt out. Thank you very much. You're a champ.

 

[acertijo22]

Perfect, we can make the difference.