--- title: Ruling in Favor of Uber Drivers Could Be a “Game Changer" description: Two New York Uber drivers may have just laid the groundwork for a policy change affecting the state's ride sharing workforce. authors: - name: Kristen Bahler role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/kristen-bahler/ bio: Kristen Bahler has spent more than a decade turning culture, work and consumer spending trends into conversation-driving stories. Today, she leads Money's sponsored content channel and reader-favorite franchises like Best Places to Live and Best Places to Travel. education: Northeastern University, MA Journalism at_money_since: 2016 articles: 52 covers: - Business - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-bahler/ published: '2016-10-13T16:18:40.000Z' modified: '2024-04-17T04:10:02.000Z' section: Business tags: - consumer - Gig Economy - pubdesk - Uber - Unemployment - Workers Rights word_count: 215 canonical: https://money.com/uber-driver-ruling/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Uber and Taxi industry competition: Uber taxi service in New](https://img.money.com/2016/10/gettyimages-499837184.jpg) *An Uber taxi in New York city, October 2016* Two New York Uber drivers may have just laid the groundwork for an unprecedented policy change affecting the state's ride sharing workforce. New York state regulators have ruled that Levon Aleksanian and Jakir Hossain, both former Uber drivers who filed for unemployment benefits last year after being fired from the company, should be treated as employees rather than independent contractors, the [New York](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/business/state-rules-2-former-uber-drivers-eligible-for-jobless-payments.html) *[Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/business/state-rules-2-former-uber-drivers-eligible-for-jobless-payments.html)* reports. Unlike contractors, employees enjoy a number of protections, including a minimum wage and workers’ compensation insurance. The New York State Department of Labor made the decision after the drivers waited months for their unemployment applications to be resolved — a process that usually takes three to six weeks. The ruling only applies to Aleksanian and Hossain, and doesn't extend to other Uber drivers, but workers rights advocates quoted in the *Times* call the decision a “game-changing” victory that may nudge the state towards widespread unemployment benefits for drivers. ***Read More: Report: Uber Has Lost More Than $1 Billion This Year*** The New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which sued the state in July on behalf of Aleksanian and Hossain, is calling for New York investigators to “conduct a comprehensive audit of Uber to determine all workers as employees and therefore eligible for unemployment benefits and protected under wage and hour laws." ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/uber-driver-ruling/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Business", "item": "https://money.com/business/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Customer Service", "item": "https://money.com/customer-service/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Ruling in Favor of Uber Drivers Could Be a “Game Changer\"" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/uber-driver-ruling/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/uber-driver-ruling/", "name": "Ruling in Favor of Uber Drivers Could Be a “Game Changer\"", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2016-10-13T16:18:40.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/uber-driver-ruling/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/uber-driver-ruling/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-04-17T04:10:02.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Ruling in Favor of Uber Drivers Could Be a “Game Changer\"", "articleSection": "Business", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2016/10/gettyimages-499837184.jpg", "width": 4500, "height": 3004, "caption": "Uber and Taxi industry competition: Uber taxi service in New" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kristen Bahler", "url": "https://money.com/author/kristen-bahler/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/kristen-bahler/#author", "description": "Kristen Bahler has spent more than a decade turning culture, work and consumer spending trends into conversation-driving stories. 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