Latest Sharing Economy Headlines

All the headlines from our Sharing Economy Topic Page, ordered by recency.

California Court Ruling Offers Way for Voters to Stave Off Shutdown of Uber, Lyft

Aug 20 2020 // A California appeals court ruling on Thursday avoided a shutdown of ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft in the state, effectively handing a decision over gig worker benefits and pay to voters in a November ballot...

Uber and Lyft Lose Bid to Delay California Driver Injunction

Aug 13 2020 // A California judge on Thursday refused to give Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. more time to appeal his decision forcing them to classify drivers in that state as employees, which they have said would necessitate...

Uber Likely to Temporarily Stop California Operations Due to New Driver Ruling

Aug 12 2020 // Uber Technologies Inc. would be forced to shut down its ride-hailing operations in California if a court ruling that blocks it from classifying its drivers as independent contractors goes into effect, the company said in a...

California Judge Blocks Uber, Lyft From Classifying Drivers as Contractors

Aug 10 2020 // A California judge on Monday granted the state’s request for a preliminary injunction blocking Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. from classifying their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. The...

Judge May Not Grant Injunction Forcing Uber, Lyft to Classify Drivers as Employees

Aug 7 2020 // A California judge signaled on Thursday he might be leaning against a request for a preliminary injunction forcing Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft Inc. to classify drivers as employees rather than contractors. In a hearing...

California Labor Commissioner Suing Uber, Lyft for ‘Systemic Wage Theft’

Aug 5 2020 // The California Labor Commissioner’s Office has filed separate lawsuits against transportation companies Uber and Lyft for committing wage theft by misclassifying employees as independent contractors. Uber and Lyft...

Rideshare Insurer Buckle Raises $31 Million to Fuel Nationwide Expansion

Aug 5 2020 // Buckle, a digital seller of rideshare insurance, disclosed it has raised $31 million in new venture financing and will use the money to expand operations nationally. HSCM Bermuda and Eos Venture Partners co-led the Series...

Update: Uber Braces for UK Legal Battles that Could End Its Reign in London

Jul 21 2020 // Uber Technologies Inc. is bracing for a long summer of legal battles that could see the end of its reign in London and entitle its drivers to a long list of workers’ rights. A dispute over whether its drivers should...

Massachusetts Sues Uber, Lyft to Classify Drivers as Employees

Jul 15 2020 // Massachusetts on Tuesday followed California in suing Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft Inc. over allegedly misclassifying their drivers as independent contractors instead of employees entitled to extensive benefits. The...

Canada’s Supreme Court Allows Class Action Seeking Employee Status for Uber Drivers

Jun 26 2020 // OTTAWA— Canada’s Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favor of a driver in a gig economy case that paves the way for a class action suit calling for Uber Technologies Inc. to recognize drivers in Canada as company...

California Wants Judge to Force Uber, Lyft to Classify Drivers as Employees

Jun 25 2020 // California plans to ask a state court judge to force Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. to classify their ride-hail drivers as employees rather than contractors, ratcheting up the tension over a new gig worker...

Lyft Settles Disabled Discrimination Claims in California

Jun 24 2020 // Lyft Inc. has agreed to settle allegations that it violated federal law when some of its drivers refused to give rides to people using folding walkers or collapsible wheelchairs in the Los Angeles area, the U.S....

California Regulator Says Uber, Lyft Drivers Are Employees

Jun 11 2020 // Drivers working for ride-hailing services such as Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft Inc will be considered employees under California’s new gig worker law, the state’s leading industry regulator said on...

Buckle Adds Delivery Coverage During Pandemic for Georgia Rideshare Drivers

May 18 2020 // Buckle, a technology-driven financial services company, has been granted temporary approval to add insurance coverage to its rideshare driver members’ policies for the delivery of food, household supplies, and other...

California Attorney General and City Attorneys Sue Uber, Lyft for Worker Misclassification

May 5 2020 // California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the city attorneys of Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, on Tuesday sued Uber and Lyft for misclassifying their drivers as independent contractors in violation of the...

Insurtech Demo Day 2020

Apr 29 2020 // Just a week shy of our Virtual Insurtech Summit, to air Wednesday, May 6th, I attended the virtual Demo Day of the Hartford Insurtech Hub on Tuesday, April 28th. As the host for our upcoming Summit, I’ve spent time...

Gig Workers Seeking Coronavirus Unemployment Insurance Frustrated

Apr 3 2020 // Uber and Lyft drivers are hitting a wall in their efforts to apply for the coronavirus jobless benefits promised by Congress as state agencies say they are not ready to handle a class of workers who are totally new to the...

As Coronavirus Threatens Gig Workers, Uber Presses for New Worker Classification

Mar 25 2020 // As independent contractors, U.S. ride-hail drivers for Uber and Lyft benefited from soaring trip demand and flexible work hours. But as the coronavirus brings large parts of the country to a halt, drivers and companies are...

Uber, Lyft to Halt Shared Rides to Help Limit Coronavirus Spread

Mar 17 2020 // Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. Tuesday began suspending shared rides on their ride-hailing platforms in the United States and Canada to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The pooled option, which allows riders to...

Uber Drivers Take Backseat in Clash Between Safety and Customer Privacy

Mar 11 2020 // Margaret Bordelon can still feel the hands of the drunk man who tried to pull her in for a kiss at the end of his Uber ride last September in Lafayette, Louisiana. An Uber driver for only a few months, Bordelon, 45,...