In a major setback for Uber, a federal judge on Wednesday dramatically expanded the scope — both financially and in number of drivers affected — of a class-action lawsuit by California drivers seeking to be reclassified as employees. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen ruled that even drivers who accepted mandatory arbitration as part of their Uber contract should be included in the case. Previously, he had excluded most drivers who started after June 2014, when Uber’s driver contract added new language on arbitration. Judge Chen also said that drivers can seek reimbursement for their car expenses, using the Internal Revenue Service rate of 57.5 cents per mile, as well as for a portion of their smartphone bills. To win any damages, Liss-Riordan first has to convince the court that drivers are really employees, not independent contractors as they are currently classified, a decision that would upend Uber’s business model. “As employees, drivers would lose the personal flexibility they value most -- they would have set shifts, earn a fixed hourly wage, and be unable to use other ridesharing apps,” Uber said in its statement Wednesday.
