Supreme Court set to hear Uber case with implications for gig economy

The Supreme Court of Canada is set today to start hearing a case brought by Uber that could have significant implications for the gig economy.

The company has challenged an Ontario Court of Appeal decision that found the company's contract clause that requires arbitration, rather than allowing class-action lawsuits, was invalid and unconscionable.

The lower court ruling came about after David Heller, a driver for UberEats, tried to launch a class-action lawsuit to force the company to recognize drivers as employees and provide them a minimum wage, vacation payand other protections underthe Employment Standards Act.

Uber had the proposed class action stayed because of a clause in the contract that requires all disputes go through mediation in the Netherlands. The process costs $14,500 US, while as a driver, Heller was making about $20,800 to $31,200 a year before taxes and expenses.

Ontario's highest court ruled in November last year the clause amounts to illegally outsourcing an employment standard.

The case comes amid wider scrutiny about what obligations technology firms have to the people who find work through their platforms, and whether they are employees.