If You're an Employee: What New Jersey Rideshare Drivers May Be Owed

Most rideshare drivers are told they are independent contractors. But in New Jersey, that label does not decide the question. The law does. And if you are actually an employee, a lot of the money you have been spending to do the job may not have been yours to spend.

Here is what that can mean.

The costs you were never supposed to carry

Employees do not bankroll their employer's business. When you are an employee, the tools and costs of the job are generally the company's responsibility, not something quietly shifted onto you. Rideshare drivers, on the other hand, cover almost everything: the car, the gas, the upkeep, the insurance. If you are really an employee, the rideshare company may be required to reimburse you for all those costs.

Your miles are worth real money

The single biggest expense for most drivers is the car itself. The IRS publishes a standard mileage rate that estimates what it actually costs to operate a vehicle, including gas, maintenance, and wear over time. The current rate is 76.5 cents per mile.

Used as a yardstick, that number adds up fast. A driver running 1,000 miles a week is pouring more than 760 dollars a week into the job at that rate. Week after week, that is a large sum a misclassified employee may be entitled to recover.

Insurance and the other costs of the job

Mileage is not the end of it. Depending on how the expenses are counted, a misclassified employee may also be owed for costs like:

• Insurance you carried to do the work
• Your phone, data, and any app or subscription fees the job required
• Tolls, parking, and car washes or cleaning
• Other out-of-pocket costs you took on just to keep driving

Money taken just to use the app

Here is one that surprises people. Some drivers have money pulled out of their pay simply for the privilege of using the platform, with various fees and charges skimmed off the top. Under New Jersey's wage laws, an employer generally cannot take deductions from an employee's pay unless the law specifically allows it. If you were really an employee, those deductions are likely unlawful, and recoverable.

How far back, and how much

Two things make New Jersey a serious place to bring these claims.

First, the reach. New Jersey's wage laws let workers look back as far as six years. That is a long runway of expenses and deductions.

Second, the remedy. New Jersey strengthened its wage laws with the Wage Theft Act, which allows for damages on top of what you are owed. In practice, that can bring the total to as much as three times the amount, not just the money itself.

The bottom line

If you have driven in New Jersey and the "contractor" label never matched how you actually worked, the costs you have been eating and the fees taken out of your pay may be worth a serious look. My firm represents drivers on a full contingency and recovers nothing unless you win. Take our short survey today to see if you qualify.