I wonder what inspired newcomer Suchagoodlife to resurrect this post with an inane comment more than half a year later. But I missed the question last March, and I try to follow what is happening with Uber and Lyft. It wasn’t easy to track down, but this must relate to a lawsuit where, the plaintiffs say:

“Petitioners are 3,420 Lyft drivers who are attempting to arbitrate their individual claims against Lyft for misclassifying them as independent contractors rather than employees.”

The case was filed in 2018 and settled out of court in 2019, but apparently some funds weren’t distributed until 2020. We are left to wonder about the result. Did Lyft agree they were employees? (Remember, in California there was legislation and a ballot issue about this.) In that case it shouldn’t go on Schedule C, should it? And Box 3 would seem to be the right place for a settlement with an employee. And legal fees for employment-related claims may or may not be deductible (there could be claims of discrimination involved here).

Lyft had decided the best defense was a good offense, so it went after one of the lawyers in the case because of his prior employment with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It’s a convoluted story. You can find it here.

https://www.reuters.com/article/legal-us-otc-lyft/3420-lyft-drivers-claim-the-company-wont-pay-arbit...