Show an ad over header. AMP  

U.K. Supreme Court rules Uber drivers are "workers," not independent contractors

19 February 2021
 Dan Ackermann

The United Kingdom's Supreme Court ruled Friday that Uber drivers should be classified as "workers" and not self-employed independent contractors, dealing a major blow to the ride-hailing giant's business model.

Why it matters: Uber has 65,000 active drivers in the U.K., according to the AP.

Details: The court's seven judges unanimously upheld a tribunal's ruling that affirmed the following ...

  1. Drivers whose work is arranged through the Uber app work for Uber under workers’ contracts and thus qualify for the national minimum wage, paid annual leave and other workers’ rights.
  2. Drivers who have brought the present claims were working under such contracts whenever they were logged into the Uber app and were ready and willing to accept trips — not just when they were driving passengers.

Read the full ruling.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

Section2

Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.