Dive Brief:

• In recent months there have been countless court hearings and headlines related to the ongoing employee classification legal battle. The final outcome of those legal processes go well beyond Lyft, Uber and other on-demand companies, according to an article at Lawyers and Settlements Online.
• Todd Scherwin, an employment attorney and managing partner of Fisher & Phillips' Los Angeles office, told Lawyers and Settlements that many companies hire independent contractors, so no matter the outcome, it will have serious, long-term repercussions.
• According to Scherwin, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria didn’t approve the $12.25 million Lyft settlement last week because it created more questions than answers. Essentially, if the intention of the class action was about plaintiffs being misclassified as independent contractors rather than employees, the settlement will add to the confusion because it bypasses the issue.

Dive Insight:

Scherwin told Lawyers and Settlements that Lyft is willing to settle because litigation is expensive and there is always the possibility of losing. Plus, the larger Uber is also involved in litigation in California, so that could determine Lyft's future as well.

Scherwin noted that whatever the Lyft outcome, these cases represent a challenge for employers who are struggling to decide how to classify their employees. He believes that the way the law is written and interpreted, an Uber driver is an independent contractor, but whatever the outcome, the issue is a challenge.

"Guaranteed we will be talking about this for months and years to come," he told Lawyers and Settlements.