New Zealand Supreme Court Says Uber Drivers Are Employees

New Zealand’s Supreme Court found that four Uber drivers were employees under the Employment Relations Act 2000, upholding lower courts’ rulings, in a decision published Nov. 17.

The court found that Uber provided drivers for passengers, with no contract between passenger and driver before a trip and no way for one side to effectively select the other. Passengers are assigned to the closest driver, and drivers are discouraged from declining potential trips, the court said. The court described both sides as “practically anonymous” to one another during the trip and added that Uber “exercises very close control” over the drivers’ ...