【eroticism saves the earth】

Uber drivers just won a major legal battle against their employer.

Following a huge win last year when the New York Department of Labor ruled all ride-sharing drivers are eroticism saves the earthconsidered employees, the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board last week decided that they could begin filing for unemployment benefits.

This is a massive victory for gig economy drivers — it means that those who quit driving due to low pay or because they were removed from working for the company (due to violations, deactivation, etcetera), can now file for unemployment insurance.

The decision could pave the way for other employment benefits like 401(k)'s, health insurance, and raises.

"We disagree with this ruling, and we are reviewing our options," an Uber spokesperson told Mashable in an emailed statement.

"We are confident that the ruling uniquely applies to the three claimants because many of the practices cited in the opinion never applied to one or more of the claimants, are no longer in place, or never existed at all."

The case was opened by three Uber drivers who quit driving for the company after they could not make ends meet from the money they received driving for Uber, and they were refused unemployment insurance due to Uber's contract-based classification of them.

Uber is currently embroiled in similar labor lawsuits around the world, contesting whether drivers should be considered employees in some of them and arguing about benefits in others. Although this sets a stronger precedent for other open lawsuits globally, legal decisions worldwide — and even country-wide — are varied.

"There's such an important legal precedent here for the gig economy as a whole, and there's a tangible benefit now to protect Uber drivers," Bhairavi Desai, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance executive director, told Mashable.

"We now have a bonafide decision from the Department of Labor and in an appeal board that would make it very difficult for the state legislature to undo these rights."

New York and California courts previously classified Uber drivers as independent contractors, but fast forward a couple years, and both legal systems have flip-flopped. Uber drivers now have rights that are similar to what an employees would have in both of those states. Yet places like Florida remain staunch in classifying Uber drivers as contractors.

This decision is definitely not the last time we'll see Uber and its employees battling through the legal systems. And it's probably also not the only gig economy based company to do so — it'll likely only be a matter of time before we see our first Uber-based lawsuit before the Supreme Court of the United States.