Uber called its recent union deal ‘historic.’ A new complaint alleges it was actually against the law.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced yesterday that it is investigating Uber’s use of a private taxi firm for its self-driving car rides.
The investigation followed reports that the company pays drivers from its app not to drive for Uber so that it can cut out the middleman; instead, drivers just take the money they would’ve received as a cut from Uber.
Uber, for its part, argued that it’s just like taxis: its drivers aren’t actually working for the company they’re driving for, but rather for drivers.
“Uber is not a taxi company. That’s never been our understanding,” says Uber spokesperson Tony Cohen.
“We also never said drivers weren’t working for us. Our drivers are always on the clock. We make sure they have what they need to be on the clock. And they are always working for us. As far as drivers’ working, we pay drivers to be on the clock, and then they work for the customer.”
In a statement from the company, Uber said that it “has never been a taxi company, and we make it clear, in writing, that it is not,” and that “Uber drivers are always working for the customer.”
In other words, drivers aren’t working for Uber because they’re getting paid in its app; they’re working for drivers, and the drivers always work for Uber.
Cohen says Uber drivers have been told about these allegations, and that drivers are being fully compensated.
In the case of the investigation into Uber’s use of cabs, Uber hired the Washington, D.C.-based firm RMS to conduct a study.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Uber said that the study is meant to be a “snapshot” of the taxi industry, and that it would be conducting its own further study.
“To understand the impact of automated technology in the taxi industry, we are conducting a study of the industry,” the company said in a statement to