Legal Battle Over Employment Rights For On-Demand Services Like Uber

20:55

April 30, 2015

The Uber app displays cars available to make a pickup in downtown Manhattan on a smart phone. (Mary Altaffer/AP)

You can get almost anything these days with the touch of a button or a tap on a smartphone. On-demand services are fast, convenient, and popular. But one Boston attorney argues that the services are coming at a cost — often to the workers.

Shannon Liss-Riordan is suing on-demand companies including Uber and Homejoy for allegedly violating labor laws. She says they are mis-classifying workers by calling them independent contractors, when they're actually employees who are owed benefits.

An Uber spokesman declined to comment on specifics of this case, but said, "Uber will vigorously defend the rights of riders to enjoy competition and choice, and for drivers to build their own small businesses."

Guest

Shannon Liss-Riordan, Boston employment attorney.

This segment aired on April 30, 2015.