- Workers said Postmates was their employer under Massachusetts law
- Three named plaintiffs settled for total of $4,750 in arbitration
- Judge had found Postmates drivers not exempt from federal arbitration law
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(Reuters) – A Boston federal judge on Monday dismissed a proposed class action accusing Postmates Inc of misclassifying couriers as independent contractors after the three named plaintiffs settled with the company in arbitration.
U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns in a brief order affirmed the arbitration awards and dismissed the 2020 lawsuit, about eight months after rejecting the plaintiffs’ bid to keep the case in court by claiming they were involved in interstate commerce and exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act.
The plaintiffs, represented by Lichten & Liss-Riordan, had claimed they should have been classified as Postmates’ employees under Massachusetts law and were owed the minimum wage, paid sick leave and reimbursements for work-related expenses.
Under the settlements approved by an arbitrator, the three plaintiffs were paid a total of $4,750. Dsquared2 Logo Bikini Top Women’s White White bikini top from Dsquared2. Printed with the label’s logo in black, this style is complete with spaghetti straps. AD BY VITKAC See MoreReport ad
San Francisco-based Postmates, which is owned by Uber Technologies Inc, and its lawyers at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Nor did Shannon Liss-Riordan, the plaintiffs’ lead lawyer.
The case is one in a series of lawsuits filed across the country by delivery and “gig economy” workers claiming they were improperly treated as independent contractors.
Stearns in a March ruling said Postmates couriers were not exempt from the FAA because they were merely providing delivery services from local retailers.
The judge distinguished the workers from Amazon.com Inc drivers who made local deliveries from the company’s warehouses and had been found to be exempt from the FAA by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2020 case.Report ad
The case is Immediato v. Postmates Inc, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, No. 1:20-cv-12308.
For the plaintiffs: Shannon Liss-Riordan of Lichten & Liss-Riordan
For Postmates: Theane Evangelis and Joshua Lipshutz of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher