Lawyers for two ex-Uber drivers said Thursday they expect a determination that the men were employees of the ridesharing service who are eligible for unemployment insurance benefits will stand during the administrative and, possibly, legal appeals to come.
The state Department of Labor (DOL) ruling made Levon Aleksanian and Jakir Hossain eligible for weekly jobless benefits of up to $425 each. But lawyers for the two men and for the New York Taxi Workers Alliance said their cases also represent the first instances they knew of where drivers for internet-aided ridesharing companies like Uber or Lyft had been deemed to be employees by New York.
