The Art of Settling But Not Resolving Gig Worker Status Disputes

Gig economy companies like Uber Technologies Inc., Lyft Inc., and Grubhub Inc., have paid hundreds of millions to defend and settle claims over the past decade that they wrongly classified workers as independent contractors, but legal and practical hurdles for plaintiffs and state enforcers mean these companies have not had to reclassify their workforces.

New Jersey’s extraction of $100 million from Uber follows this trend. While it resolves allegations that the company misclassified its drivers and failed to pay unemployment insurance taxes, Uber and a subsidiary will not be required to change the way they classify drivers ...