Catherwood LibraryILR School

Uber, the ride-sharing service that employs over 300,000 drivers as independent contractors, now finds itself facing the possibility of a class-action lawsuit after a September U.S. District court ruling determined that drivers could form a “class” for purposes of litigation. Current Uber contracts include a clause binding driver disputes to an arbitration process that was ruled to be poorly written and contradictory, preventing opt-out options that would have allowed drivers to sue. Arbitration clauses were highlighted in a New York Times series this weekend that exposed how arbitration clauses allow corporations to avoid legal proceedings stemming from consumer-merchant disputes.