Judge rules taxi driver is an employee, not contractor

From the Gloucester Times, Mary Markos reports that judge found a taxi driver to be an employee and not an independent contractors. The judge’s conclusion is different from the decision by the Supreme Judicial Court when it considered whether Boston taxi drivers challenged their classification as an independent contractor. See These Taxi Drivers Are Not Employees Says Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. In the Gloucester case, Mary reports:

Gloucester resident Inge Berge, filed suit in Essex Superior Court in 2015, arguing that the taxi company classifies its drivers as “independent contractors,” rather than employees, and denies them minimum wage and overtime pay. Gloucester Taxi pays its drivers a portion of each fare, but Berg’s suit alleged that they do not make sure the drivers make minimum wage during slow periods when drivers are waiting for a fare.

Superior Court Judge Christopher Barry-Smith has ruled that Berge was an employee of the company as a matter of law, regardless of the company’s attempt to pay the driver as an “independent contractor.”

 “The law is clear,” Berge’s lawyer, Michael Bace, said in a statement. “Suggesting that this is the way it’s always been done, or the company can’t afford to pay minimum wage, is no excuse for treating workers in this fashion.”

Berge, a local musician and songwriter, drove a cab for Gloucester Taxi from April 2012 through March 2013. According to the lawsuit, Berge and other Gloucester Taxi drivers received 40 percent of each fare the company collects from customers, and keeps 100 percent of their tips. Berge drove an average of two nights, or 20 hours, a week at the time.

Gloucester Taxi owner Jeffrey Young, cited as a defendant in Berge’s lawsuit, claimed when the suit was filed that the split has long been the payment format. Young refused to comment earlier this wee.

“We hear this frequently from business owners saying, ‘This is the way it’s always been in the taxi industry.’ They pay a portion of the fare and if they sit there for six hours, tough. It’s a tough life for taxi drivers,” said Bace. “Not only is that not right, it’s not legal.”

A trial to determine the extent to which Berge was not paid minimum wage and overtime has yet to be scheduled.

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