As much as as despise many of Uber and Lyft's business practices, until the law of the land dictates that drivers must me classified as employees, they are not required to even provide drivers with a pot!
And before we all rush to embrace and employee classification, don't forget that all they are REQUIRED to pay their employees is the Illinois minimum wage of $9.25 an hour! And they may not even give you a full 40 hours a week... meaning they then wouldn't necessarily have to give you all the benefits afforded to a full time employee either.
If you are unhappy and dissatisfied with the way they take advantage of the legal system now, what makes you think they will suddenly provide more than the bare minimum legally necessary under an employer/employee W2 situation??
And you might not be reimbursed for mileage expense. As an employee you would not be filing a Schedule C at tax time; would not be able do deduct any of the expenses that a savvy driver can do now. This means you have no means of reducing your taxable income and would be paying Fed and State income tax abd Medicare/ Social Security tax on all of your wages.
I don't know about you, but I am making WAY MORE than minimum wage as a 1099 contractor, even after calculating my total actual expenses, auto maintenance and repair including depreciation of my vehicle.
One really needs to accurately account and Fourier in your tax situation when determining the pros and cons of 1099 vs employee form of compensation. As well as the unforeseen and unintended possibilities and consequences in a w2 employee relationship. I have many years of experience as both. It's not as clear as many people would have you think.
