Lawyer Asks Judge to Throw Out Uber's New Driver Contract

Two days after a San Francisco federal judge expanded a lawsuit by California drivers against Uber, the company sent out a new arbitration agreement that an attorney alleges is an attempt to "potentially trick" drivers into opting out of the class action.

Shannon Liss-Riordan, who filed the suit on behalf of drivers seeking to be classified as employees rather than independent contractors, wrote that she received between 100-200 inquiries from Uber drivers "who have expressed confusion and dismay about the new agreement."

She filed a motion Friday asking U.S. District Judge Edward Chen to invalidate it.

"Uber has attempted to usurp this Court's role of overseeing the process of issuing class notice and allowing drivers to have a full and fair opportunity, supervised by the Court, to learn about the case and choose whether or not to participate or opt out," the motion read.

Last Wednesday, Chen agreed to expand the suit to include drivers who signed recent arbitration clauses, which Liss-Riordan said would include "many more thousands" of drivers in the suit.

Chen ruled the clause was unenforceable because it contained an illegal waiver for PAGA, the Private Attorney General Act, which allows a private citizen to sue on behalf of the state for labor code violations.

Uber officials say the company sent out a new agreement that clears this up and addresses Chen's concerns.

"We believe strongly that our agreements are valid, but we are making some changes and clarifications to remove uncertainty for drivers and for us as we work through our multiple appeals on this issue," said an Uber spokesman.

The new 21-page contract was emailed to all Uber drivers on Friday. They are required to sign it before they can use the app and drive, the spokesman said, noting that drivers have 30 days to opt out of the arbitration clause.

But Liss-Riordan, in her motion, wrote that Uber's agreements "mention nothing about class certification" and give only a passing reference to the class-action lawsuit.

"Drivers receiving the agreement would not realize that they are class members in this case, or that by agreeing and failing to opt out of the arbitration agreement, they may be giving up their right to participate," she wrote.

The class-action suit could potentially affect up to 160,000 Uber drivers in California, and if successful would mean drivers could be reimbursed for expenses.

Uber's lawyers say they informed Chen of the new agreements in court last week during a hearing in a different case involving Uber, and he "understood both the need for Uber to send out new agreements in light of its rulings and why the planned rollout made sense."

A hearing on the case is set for Thursday afternoon in Chen's courtroom.