The words Uber and litigation have been synonymous lately, and Hamilton County has just joined the fray.  An Uber driver in the local area has gone to federal court, arguing he is not an independent contractor.

A story posted to the Indianapolis Star Web site, written by reporter Fatima Hussein, identifies the driver filing the lawsuit as Clinton Price.  He has been an Uber driver since 2014.

Price claims he is an employee, not a contractor.  The distinction is an important one.

Minimum wage laws and other employee protections in the statutes do not apply to independent contractors, who are treated more like business owners.  The tax situation is much different for contractors, because they must pay the entire tax for Medicare and Social Security, where employees are only responsible for half the tax, which is withheld from their pay.  Employers pay the other half.

According the the Star story, Price’s attorney claims Uber treats it workers like employees, but classifies the drivers as independent contractors.  The law provides several factors to be used in determining whether someone being paid to perform work is a contractor or employee.  It is often a contentious issue and Uber has been the target of many legal actions surrounding the employee versus contractor issue.