Mar 12, 2019 - Technology

Uber agrees to pay $20M settlement to drivers over contractor status

Photo: Pavlo Conchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Uber has agreed pay $20 million to settle a 6-year-old class-action lawsuit brought by drivers claiming they are employees of Uber, not independent contractors, and are therefore eligible for benefits and reimbursement for expenses, Reuters reports.

Between the lines: Last year, a California Supreme Court ruling made it more difficult for employers to label gig-economy workers as independent contractors. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen rejected Uber's offer in 2016 to pay the drivers a settlement of $100 million, claiming it was not sufficient. The class now includes 13,600 drivers in California and Massachusetts, significantly smaller than the original class size of 385,000.

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Ashley Gold, Kyle Daly
1 hour ago - Technology

Justice Department sues Google over alleged search monopoly

Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios

The Justice Department and 11 states Tuesday filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, accusing the company of using anticompetitive tactics to illegally monopolize the online search and search advertising markets.

Why it matters: The long-awaited suit is Washington's first major blow against the tech giants that many on both the right and left argue have grown too large and powerful. Still, this is just step one in what could be a lengthy and messy court battle.

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Axios
Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Politics: Americans feel Trump's sickness makes him harder to trust — Florida breaks record for in-person early voting.
  2. Health: The next wave is gaining steam.
  3. Education: Schools haven't become hotspots.
  4. World: Ireland moving back into lockdown — Argentina becomes 5th country to report 5 million infections.
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Orion Rummler
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

In photos: Florida breaks record for in-person early voting

Voters wait in line at John F. Kennedy Public Library in Hialeah, Florida on Oct. 19. Photo: Eva Marie Uzcategui/AFP via Getty Images

More Floridians cast early ballots for the 2020 election on Monday than in the first day of in-person early voting in 2016, shattering the previous record by over 50,000 votes, Politico reports.

The big picture: Voters have already cast over 31 million ballots in early voting states as of Tuesday, per the U.S. Elections Project database by Michael McDonald, an elections expert at the University of Florida.

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