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Miami Court Rules That Uber Drivers Are Not Eligible For Unemployment Benefits

A Miami appeals court is siding with Governor Rick Scott and San Francisco-based technology giant Uber in a dispute over the status of part-time drivers. 

The Third District Court of Appeals in Miami has decided Uber drivers are independent contractors and not employees and therefore not eligible for unemployment benefits.

The ruling cites a standard Uber contract requiring drivers to acknowledge that they are independent contractors. The driver argued Uber controls almost every aspect of his performance and had the right to fire him.

Uber paid 100 million dollars last year to settle class action suits in California and Massachusetts, but retained the right to classify its drivers as contractors.

Copyright 2017 WFSU-FM. To see more, visit WFSU-FM.

Jim Ash is a reporter at WFSU-FM. A Miami native, he is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience, most of it in print. He has been a member of the Florida Capital Press Corps since 1992.
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