O'Connor

ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT UBER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

(Docket No. 211)

Plaintiffs filed this putative class action on behalf of themselves and other similarly situated individuals who drive for Defendant Uber Technologies, Inc. See Docket No. 201-2 (Second Amended Class Action Complaint) (SAC). Plaintiffs claim that they are employees of Uber, as opposed to its independent contractors, and thus are eligible for various statutory protections for employees codified in the California Labor Code, such as a requirement that an employer pass on the entire amount of any gratuity “that is paid, given to, or left for an employee by a patron.” Cal. Lab. Code § 351 ; see also SAC at ¶¶ 27-28.

Pending before the Court is Uber’s motion for summary judgment that Plaintiffs are independent contractors as a matter of law. As is discussed below, the Court first concludes that Plaintiffs are Uber’s presumptive employees because they “perform services” for the benefit of Uber. The Court next holds that whether an individual should ultimately be classified as an employee or an independent contractor under California law presents a mixed question of law and fact that must…