SAN FRANCISCO (Northern California Record) – Postmates recently moved a class action from a state court to a federal court as the courier delivery service grapples with a California Supreme Court decision earlier this spring that complicates how gig economy companies define independent contractors.
… Lee filed her case days after the California Supreme Court handed down a ruling that has been hailed as a “landmark decision” that changed how a worker is determined to be an independent contractor. In that April 30 ruling, the state court affirmed an appeals court’s ruling that a three-factor “ABC” used in other states is the correct test for use in California and marked a shift away from the prior standard that was used for decades and considered about a dozen factors.
… “Postmates further denies that the Internal Revenue Service’s standard mileage rates are the appropriate metrics for determining the amount or size of reimbursements under California Labor Code section 2802. However, applying the current Internal Revenue Service reimbursement rate, for the purposes of meeting the jurisdictional requirements for removal only, the amount placed in controversy by the class allegations concerning mileage-related expenses alone exceeds $5 million.”