Drivers’ Lawsuit Claims Uber and Lyft Violate Antitrust Laws

A group of drivers claimed on Tuesday that Uber and Lyft are engaging in anticompetitive practices by setting the prices customers pay and limiting drivers’ ability to choose which rides they accept without penalty.

The drivers, supported by the advocacy group Rideshare Drivers United, made the novel legal argument in a state lawsuit that targets the long-running debate about the job status of gig economy workers.

For years, Uber and Lyft have argued that their drivers should be considered independent contractors rather than employees under labor laws, meaning they would be responsible for their own expenses and not typically eligible for unemployment insurance or health benefits. In exchange, the companies argued, drivers could set their own hours and maintain more independence than they could if they were employees.

But in their complaint, which was filed in Superior Court in San Francisco and seeks class-action status, three drivers claim that Uber and Lyft, while treating them as independent contractors, have not truly given them independence and are trying to avoid giving drivers the benefits and protections of employment status while setting restrictions on the way they work.

“They’re making up the rules as they go along. They’re not treating me as independent, they’re not treating me as an employee,” said one of the plaintiffs, Taje Gill, a Lyft and Uber driver in Orange County, Calif. “You’re somewhere in no man’s land,” he added.

In 2020, Uber and Lyft campaigned for drivers and voters to support a ballot measure in California that would lock in the independent contractor status of drivers. The companies said such a measure would help drivers by giving them flexibility, and Uber also began allowing drivers in California to set their own rates after the state passed a law requiring companies to treat contract workers as employees. Drivers thought the new flexibility was a sign of what life would be like if voters approved the ballot measure, Proposition 22.

Drivers were also given increased visibility into where passengers wanted to travel before they had to accept the ride. The ballot measure passed, before a judge overturned it.

The next year, the new options for drivers were rolled back. Drivers said they had lost the ability to set their own fares and now must meet requirements — like accepting five of every 10 rides — to see details about trips before accepting them.

The drivers said now they lacked both the benefits of being an employee and those of being an independent contractor. “I couldn’t see this as fair and reasonable,” Mr. Gill said.

The inability to view a passenger’s destination before accepting the ride is particularly onerous, the drivers said. It sometimes leads to unanticipated late-night trips to faraway airports or out-of-the-way destinations that are not cost effective.

“Millions of people choose to earn on platforms like Uber because of the unique…