ELA CEO and HK Co-Managing Partner Steve Hirschfeld is quoted in the Law360 article titled, "Lyft's $27M Driver Deal Hailed As Defense Against Future Suits." The piece explores the impact of ride sharing service Lyft's increased proposed settlement with its drivers in a class action lawsuit that, among other things, challenged their employee classification.
Notably the proposed settlement does not address the employee classification issue, meaning the drivers will remain indepependent contractors -- a point that the company cites as essential to its success and a dynamic commonplace in the sharing/gig economy. Addressing the impact of this development, Hirschfeld offered, "Companies in this sharing economy are legitimately concerned about everything they do and all the bells and whistles they attach to the relationship they have with their independent contractors. They want to know that whatever they add, will it negatively impact a court’s perception of whether these people are really independent contractors?"
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