The plaintiffs seek to represent a class of 96,000-plus Uber drivers in New York City who worked for the company from 2013-2017 and who did not opt out of arbitration. The lawsuit claims Uber deducted sales tax and the Black Car Fund surcharge from drivers during that time. The lawsuit is asking for all of that money back. “Uber bosses are raking in millions while drivers struggle to feed their families,” said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the Taxi Workers Alliance, in a statement.
In 2017, the company admitted that it had mistakenly calculated its commissions based on earnings that included state taxes, rather than pretax amounts. Uber said it would repay the lost earnings, but didn’t disclose how much that would be. This time around, though, the Taxi Workers Alliance says Uber wrongly shifted the cost of those taxes and surcharges to drivers, in addition to charging the service fee. A spokesperson for Uber declined to comment.