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Uber Banned in Germany and France, and Faces Lawsuits in Multiple States (nbcnews.com) 218

An anonymous reader writes that Uber "has suffered double-losses in Europe, as both France and Germany continue to reject the company's validity in their regions." Meanwhile, a Boston Uber driver filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday accusing Uber of illegally classifying drivers as independent contractors to avoid providing full employee benefits. An Indianapolis driver has filed a similar suit, which also complains that Uber won't let them accept tips, and keeps any tips that customer's pay them through Uber's app. And remember when Uber and Lyft left Austin after losing a local election which would've required all their drivers to be fingerprinted? Now two lawsuits charge the companies were required to give 60 days notice to all their employees, and is demanding back pay and benefits.

But an anonymous reader quotes this column from the Los Angeles Times arguing that a federal judge's ultimate question is just "how sleazy" Uber really is. We're familiar with the Uber that talked about responding to bad publicity by digging up dirt on reporters following the company. Also the Uber that allegedly stalked passengers using its service, following their travel routes for the amusement of its party-goers... What about the Uber that secretly investigated a lawyer representing an adversary in a lawsuit, and then lied about it? That's the Uber that Federal Judge Jed S. Rakoff of New York wants to hear a lot more about. On Thursday he ordered Uber to turn over to the other side a pile of documents related to the investigation.
Slashdot reader chasm22 points out that the high-powered investigator hired by Uber is apparently a retired senior CIA officer -- a former chief strategy officer, chief of cyberthreat analysis and chief of counterintelligence.
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Uber Banned in Germany and France, and Faces Lawsuits in Multiple States

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  • Problem (Score:4, Insightful)

    by fluffernutter ( 1411889 ) on Sunday June 12, 2016 @10:43AM (#52299487)
    The problem with capitalism is that a company can be successful even if it's bad for everyone.
    • by Kohath ( 38547 )

      If Uber's drivers think Uber is bad for them, why do they continue to drive for Uber? If Uber's customers think Uber is bad for them, why do they continue to use Uber?

      Uber must actually be pretty good for both of these groups.

      • You're talking about two trees, I'm talking about the forest.
        • by Kohath ( 38547 )

          All of us out here are individual trees. We're not interested in being sacrificed for your idea of what makes a utopian forest.

          Uber benefits from Uber. Uber riders benefit from Uber -- else they'd stop using Uber. Uber drivers benefit from Uber -- else they'd stop driving for Uber. Add the phone makers and credit card companies and that's literally everyone involved in the transaction. Everyone involved benefits.

          Who is "the forest" then? Corrupt politicians? Rich taxi medallion owners? People who im

    • The problem with capitalism is that a company can be successful even if it's bad for everyone.

      No it can't. If the company is bad for everyone, then no one will do business with that company and they will fail.

    • The problem with capitalism is that a company can be successful even if it's bad for everyone.

      Utter nonsense. The fundamental strength of capitalism is that if a company isn't sufficiently good for its customers and suppliers, it will fail (barring government interference to prop it up).

      There are negatives associated with capitalism, mostly around its tendency to ignore any costs it can externalize, but the one you claim is absolutely not one of them.

      • A customer finding a company good for them as an individual is drastically different then a company being good for a general population. Therein lies the problem. You are confusing individual good with common good.
  • by thinkwaitfast ( 4150389 ) on Sunday June 12, 2016 @10:44AM (#52299489)
    Didn't slashdot used to love uber?
    • It's just a situation of a great idea being brought down by terrible implementation.

      In many countries Uber could be legal, if only they bothered to follow local legislation.

  • keeps any tips that customer's pay them through Uber's app.

    I'm curious. What thing that the customer owns gives tips?

  • rules about employees / 1099's need to reworked.

    The thing is uber clams there works are 1099's but uber sets the prices can kick people off for not taking X # of open calls / etc. Ban's tips.

    Others have really pushed the limes of 1099's like fedex, handy, cable co's, and others.

    • rules about employees / 1099's need to reworked.

      Some policy wonks believe that the solution is to create additional categories of workers. So instead of just "W-2 employee" and "1099 contractor" we would have a third category for people that are not quite independent contractors, but not really employees either. They would then have some of the benefits of employees, but some of the flexibility of contractors. People working for Uber, Lyft, Task Rabbit, Fivver, Mechanical Turk, etc. might fall into this category.

  • by danbob999 ( 2490674 ) on Sunday June 12, 2016 @10:58AM (#52299585)

    Uber is a cab service. So either we cancel all cab services laws, or Uber complies to them. Having two different rules for similar services, just because one happens to be using a smartphone application and is billing from a foreign country is not a valid reason to have two systems.

    • The situation here in Hong Kong is a bit different. There are taxis, clearly marked so, which all need a license (which US generally calls "medallion" - and indeed they're in short supply) to operate. Drivers need to have undergone certain training. Licenses are linked to vehicles, and drivers generally rent the vehicles on a per shift basis. That's pretty much the same all over the world.

      Other than that, there is the "hire car" permit. Everyone can register their car as "hire car", and then start picking u

      • by Shados ( 741919 )

        That's exactly how Uber works in the US too, at least Uber Black does. The cab vs limo service (hired cars) is pretty much exactly what you describe, with similar advantages and limitations.

        Uber X just ends up in a weird messy gray (dark gray I guess) area.

      • There are taxis, clearly marked so, which all need a license (which US generally calls "medallion" - and indeed they're in short supply) to operate. Drivers need to have undergone certain training. Licenses are linked to vehicles, and drivers generally rent the vehicles on a per shift basis. That's pretty much the same all over the world.

        In London, I think the way it works is that the drivers are licensed and the requirements to get a license act as a limit on supply.

        It takes approximately 2 years to get

  • by AdamInParadise ( 257888 ) on Sunday June 12, 2016 @10:59AM (#52299601) Homepage

    Uber is not banned in France, and it most probably won't be. Uber was fined because of UberPop, a service that connected "drivers" with no training and no business license with customers. UberPop was illegal from the get go, I have no idea what went through the mind of the executives in charge when they launched this service. The regular Uber service (with professionnal drivers) works just fine.

  • They deserve to die. I am happy to use other ride-share services, and I used some long before there was Uber. But I won't give Uber any of my business.

  • by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Sunday June 12, 2016 @01:04PM (#52300115)
    your entire quality of life is based on your job. You're access to housing, health care, education, food. Everything. We've built up a complicated and messy social contract where if you kill yourself for a business they're suppose to take care of you. Uber completely breaks what little truth there was in that. Worse, the drivers after accounting for their low pay and mileage write offs often end up with effectively zero income for tax and welfare purposes. So like Walmart (but more so) the tax payer ends up covering the bill to keep them working. Food stamps (in the more liberal States), free or heavily subsidized health and child care. Uber becomes the biggest welfare recipient in the world. I suspect it's much, much more worse in Europe where the social safety net is much more robust.

    Uber is either a race to the bottom, a huge subsidy for the 1% or both. Either way it should be stamped out. There's nothing good here.
  • I'm continually confused why these people work for Uber and then complain about what its like to work for Uber.... So, don't work there? If Uber is misleading people in the terms of the relationship or contract, that is something to sue over. But if Uber clearly lays out the offer for for someone to drive, and they accept, then that's a valid contract. What Uber drivers are struggling with, really, is that the barrier to entry for a new Uber driver is low. Thus Uber has a large supply of potential drive
  • Uber is a company that matches drivers with riders. The idea that consenting adults can't give each other rides for money without government permission, or one or the other person becoming an "employee", is absolutely ludicrous.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Yeah, that doesn't work out too well in reality. Then snowball driver A picks up a ride, but they haven't taken their car in for maintenance, and haven't paid their insurance. Oops, car accident. Well, looks like driver A can't pay for your hospital costs... enjoy your life now.

  • It is nice to see France and Germany courts standing by their opinions, after EU commission warned them against banning Uber.

    It was obvious intimidation tactics by EU commission, and now the EU court of justice will have to settle the thing.

  • We just can't do anything anymore. Since when can a contract worker dictate that he must be an employee? Since when can a government tell a company it can't do business b/c it will hurt someone else's business? The capitalist system is about to collapse under it's own crony-ism.

    Here in Florida we were about to get the first true high-speed rail, until Rick Scott, our King, unilaterally said "nope". And that was the end of that. Now his crony's are starting their own slow-speed rail (and lie calling it high-

  • Uber, "Okay okay. We'll make them all employees." ... a few years ... "Sorry, you're fired. We just automated your job."

    The world has much bigger problems and the government is croning around with taxi companies.

  • Totally anti-progress, and anti-sharing economy protecting old fashioned business plans and State revenue streams. Take the assholes that did this apart.

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