CEO says ruling “validates the freedom our delivery partners enjoy.”


In what is believed to be the first gig economy case to be fully decided on the merits, Grubhub has beaten back a labor lawsuit filed by one of its former drivers.
In a court opinion released Thursday by US Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, "the Court finds that Grubhub has satisfied its burden of showing that Mr. Lawson was properly classified as an independent contractor."

Both sides had agreed that Judge Corley, rather than a jury, would decide the case in her San Francisco federal courtroom. She heard closing arguments in late October 2017.

The case, Lawson v. Grubhub, involved Raef Lawson, an aspiring actor who made ends meet with various day jobs, sued Grubhub in 2015. He said that he should have been classified as an employee, not a contractor. He sued for back wages, overtime, and expense reimbursement.

The case was originally filed as a proposed class-action lawsuit, but the judge never granted that status, so the it was only limited to him and his claimed $600 in damages. Had Lawson prevailed, the case likely would have set the table for other lawsuits against other similar companies.
Lawson's lawyer, Shannon Liss-Riordan, has filed numerous such gig economy labor cases in recent years and has yet to substantially prevail. She did not immediately respond to Ars' request for comment.

"We are very pleased with today's ruling that the plaintiff was an independent contractor in light of the tremendous freedom and flexibility he enjoyed while using Grubhub's app," Michele Maryott, one of Grubhub’s lawyers, emailed Ars in a statement. "Delivery partners gravitate to Grubhub, rather than traditional employment, precisely because of the independence and autonomy they have over their workdays and over their businesses."

For its part, Grubhub also trumpeted its victory.

"We're extremely satisfied with today's ruling in Lawson v. Grubhub, which validates the freedom our delivery partners enjoy from deciding when, where, and how frequently to perform deliveries," Matt Maloney, Grubhub CEO, said in a statement. "We will continue to ensure that delivery partners can take advantage of the flexibility that they value from working with Grubhub."