California judge orders Uber and Lyft to classify drivers as employees

A car with Uber and Lyft stickers.
(Image credit: Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

A California judge on Monday ruled that the ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft have to classify their drivers in the state as employees, not independent contractors.

AB5, a new California labor law that went into effect Jan. 1, makes it harder for companies to misclassify workers who should be considered employees, and thus eligible for minimum wage and overtime. California is the largest market in the U.S. for Uber and Lyft, and in May, the state filed a lawsuit against the companies, accusing them of violating AB5.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.