OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada will help decide whether a proposed class-action lawsuit against ride-hailing service Uber can move ahead.
The high court has agreed to hear Uber’s challenge of an Ontario Court of Appeal decision that paved the way for the suit aimed at securing a minimum wage, vacation pay and other benefits for drivers.
The man behind the planned class action, David Heller, is a driver for UberEats, a service that calls on drivers to deliver food from restaurants to Uber customers.
He argues that Uber drivers are employees, which entitles them to protections under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act.
Ontario’s highest court said a clause in Uber’s services agreement that requires all disputes to go through arbitration in the Netherlands amounted to illegally outsourcing an employment standard.
The Supreme Court, following its usual custom, gave no reasons for agreeing to hear Uber’s appeal and no date for the high-court hearing has been set.