Wipro, Uber Face Wage and Hour Lawsuits

Los Angeles, CA Two major California labor lawsuits are working their way through the court system, and could potentially have an impact on how California employees are classified by their employers. Among serious complaints against California employers are California labor complaints that employers purposely misclassify their workers as independent contractors, to avoid following wage and hour laws.

According to American Bazaar (6/11/15), Wipro now faces a class-action lawsuit alleging the company misclassified employees as exempt from overtime pay, failed to pay overtime and violated California’s Unfair Competition Act. Plaintiff Suri Payala filed the lawsuit alleging he was hired as an architect (essentially a computer technician) but was not paid for overtime work and was not paid properly for travel time when his worksite was outsourced.

Payala claims approximately 200 other employees are in the same position as he, and none were told about California overtime laws. The lawsuit alleges Payala made less than the monthly threshold for exemption from overtime pay. In California, that threshold is $7,000 per month or $84,130 annually.

Lawyers for Wipro said in court filings that the plaintiff is not entitled to relief.

Meanwhile, as a California lawsuit alleging Uber drivers are misclassified as independent contractors continues, the California Labor Commissioner’s Office has ruled that at least one Uber driver is an employee and not an independent contractor. According to Business Insider (6/17/15), the Commission’s Office ruling is not binding, but could set a precedent.

Both Uber and Lyft face lawsuits alleging their drivers are employees and not independent contractors. In both cases, judges have ruled the cases would be tried by juries, and noted they were not convinced the drivers were independent contractors. Now the labor commission has also found that at least one driver is an employee.

Uber released a statement to Business Insider stating that the California Labor Commissioner’s Office ruling contradicts an earlier ruling by the same Commissioner’s Office, which found drivers were independent contractors. The company plans to appeal the ruling. Among factors that determine whether a person is an employee or contractor are the amount of control and discretion the person has over his or her duties, and how essential the worker is to the success of the business.

The Uber lawsuit is O’Connor et al v. Uber Technologies Inc, et al, No. C-13-3826. The Lyft lawsuit is Cotter v. Lyft Inc., et al, No. 13-4065, US District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).