Proposed class action against Uber can proceed, appeal court rules – Canadian Press

A proposed class-action lawsuit against the ride-hailing company Uber filed by one of its drivers will go ahead after Ontario’s top court reversed a lower court decision that would have sent the matter to arbitration overseas.

In a ruling released Wednesday, the Court of Appeal for Ontario says a clause in Uber’s services agreement that requires all disputes to go through arbitration in the Netherlands amounts to illegally outsourcing an employment standard and therefore cannot stand.

“This decision confirms that employment laws actually matter in Ontario, and that you cannot deprive workers of their legal rights under the Ontario Employment Standards Act by sending them 6,000 km overseas to enforce those rights at exorbitant personal cost,” said Lior Samfiru, the Toronto Employment Lawyer who represents class action plaintiff and former Uber driver David Heller, said in a statement.

“Legal rights are meaningless if there is no mechanism to enforce those rights. Uber’s contract with its drivers seeks to make the enforceability of rights virtually impossible. The court sent a loud and clear message that this is illegal in Ontario.”

Read more of Lior’s comments about this recent decision in the Canadian Press story that was carried by the following publications:

• CBC News
• Globe and Mail
• Global News
• CityNews
• CTV News
• 680 News