A French court ruled that an Uber driver had to pay 17 million euros in wages and salaries

A French court ruled against Uber, a platform operator, to pay the driver 17 million euros in salary and compensation.
A French court on the 20th paid a group of drivers about 17 million euros ($18.43 million) in damages and lost wages, saying that drivers belonging to UBER, which started as self-employed in the United States, should be treated as employees, not self-employed. ruled, Reuters reported.
The Conseil des Prud'hommes labor court in Lyon, France, has been sued since 2020 by 139 drivers who filed the lawsuit. The ruling determined that the customer's working relationship must qualify as an employment contract.
According to Reuters, workers' lawyers said the ruling was "a judgment requiring reimbursement of professional expenses such as the purchase of a car, fuel and overtime."
The French ruling is expected to limit the 'handling of self-employed' in business contracts such as Coupang, which is similar to Uber, which has spread to Korea, as it determines paid vacation payments and more taxes and benefits for platform businesses, a new business model for US companies. see.
A spokesperson for Uber said in response to the ruling that "the company's goal is to build a model that preserves the desired flexibility while ensuring concrete improvements in working conditions."
Earlier this month, before the ruling, Uber signed a landmark contract with a French driver, setting a precedent for adopting a minimum wage system with a guarantee of at least 7.65 euros ($8.25) per ride.
The ruling applies only to the past and not to Uber's driver status in the future.
Coupang is attempting an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, paying US$27.64 million (30.5 billion won) in compensation for stock options worth US$27.43 million to Tuan Pham, chief technology officer (CTO) from Uber in the US, in 2020. In the 'active customer' system, which has grown rapidly as a platform delivery system, delivery workers are reported as independent operators, and it is specified in the listing data that "the Ministry of Labor and Labor of Korea has decided."
Coupang Chairman Kim Bum-seok, an American national, applied for listing with a governance structure that monopolizes management rights to a 2% stake with 29 times 'differential voting rights' stocks per share, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange listing documents that 'Coupang Flex and Itz delivery workers are workers under the Labor Standards Act' It is not,” and recorded, “If it becomes difficult in terms of laws and legal interpretation to classify Coupang Flex Itz couriers as independent contractors, the cost of defending and resolving it can be an important factor for our business.” It seems that he chose the New York Stock Exchange, where Uber was damaged.
In the United States, Uber has no legal regulations yet as the media is focusing on determining whether platform workers such as ride-hailing platforms and food delivery ‘Deliveroo’ are workers.
In the report, Coupang recorded that “domestic regulatory agencies, including the Ministry of Employment and Labor of Korea, determined that Coupang Flex partners and Coupang Eats delivery partners were independent contractors, not workers.”
Coupang imitates the Uber system to deliver goods to 'Coupang Flex Partner' with a 'per-case fee' system in 'Coupang' (Coupang Man), a worker under the Labor Standards Act, and delivery on a specific date and in a specific area, a platform worker, in addition to the 'Coupang Flex Partner'. We classified 'Coupang Eats', a food ordering and delivery company that grew intensively in the quarter, as 'independent contractors', and recorded in the New York listing that "we believe they are independent contractors."
On March 19, 2021, the British Supreme Court ruled against Uber, saying that Uber drivers are not 'individual entrepreneurs' who work when they want to work and rest when they want to, but are 'workers' subordinate to the operator.
On the 16th, right before the ruling, Uber announced that “from the 17th, minimum wage vacation pay will be paid and employee insurance will be provided free of charge.”
The UK Supreme Court ruling ruled that Uber is a worker based on driver control management through penalty points when unilaterally setting contract conditions such as fares and refusal to ride.
A British court did not apply 'worker status' to delivery drivers of Uber's food delivery service, 'Uber Eats'.
<Coupang courier 'determination of independent contractor' reported to the New York Stock Exchange, February 14, 2021.