Uber’s march across America’s regulatory landscape

> Employees are often trained by a more experienced employee or are required to attend meetings or take training courses. An Independent Contractor uses his or her own methods and thus need not receive training from the purchaser of those services.

Uber drivers are responsible for their own training.

> An Employee's business and travel expenses are either paid directly or reimbursed by the employer. Independent Contractors normally pay all of their own business and travel expenses without reimbursement.

> Employees are furnished all necessary tools, materials, and equipment by their employer. An Independent Contractor ordinarily provides all of the tools and equipment necessary to complete the job.

> An Employee generally has little or no investment in the business. Instead, an Employee is economically dependent on the employer. True Independent Contractors usually have a substantial financial investment in their independent business.

Uber drivers pay their own business expenses, vehicle and gas. Drivers are expected to provide their own vehicles and often have an independent driving business.

> An Employee does not make his or her services available to the public except through the employer's company. An Independent Contractor may advertise, carry business cards, hang out a shingle, or hold a separate business license.

Many drivers also have their own private car business and make their services available publicly.

> An Employee does not ordinarily realize a profit or loss in the business. Rather, Employees are paid for services rendered. An Independent Contractor can either realize a profit or suffer a loss depending on the management of expenses and revenues.

Uber drivers absolutely have profit/loss.

> An Employee is typically paid by the employer in regular amounts at stated intervals, such as by the hour or week. An Independent Contractor is normally paid by the job, either a negotiated flat rate or upon submission of a bid.

> An Employee may work "on call" or during hours and days as set by the employer. A true Independent Contractor is the master of his or her own time and works the days and hours he or she chooses.

> An Employee ordinarily works for one employer at a time and may be prohibited from joining a competitor. An Independent Contractor often works for more than one client or firm at the same time and is not subject to a non-competition rule.

> An Employee may be required to submit regular oral or written reports about the work in progress. An Independent Contractor is usually not required to submit regular oral or written reports about the work in progress.

> An Employee ordinarily devotes full-time service to the employer, or the employer may have a priority on the Employee's time. A true Independent Contractor cannot be required to devote full-time service to one firm exclusively.

Drivers are paid by job and are masters of their own time. Drivers may and often do work for multiple driving companies. Working full time or exclusively for Uber is not required -- some drivers work for both Uber and Lyft.

That's 11 out of the IRS's 20 employment/contracting tests.

While Uber drivers also meet a few of the tests for being an employee, many of the employee/contractor tests suggest the latter. Anyone who is intellectually honest about the contractor/employee debate will acknowledge that there are good reasons to believe drivers are contractors.

If you're still not convinced, try to imagine a Google employee who: makes his services available to the public, also works for Apple, sets his own hours completely, provides his own tools (computer etc.), is paid by the job rather than monthly, earns revenue from his work with Google and other clients which against his business expenses can turn a profit, never provides written reports about his work, does not receive training/mentoring from Google, etc. That would never happen because what I'm describing in this paragraph is not an employee.

So very many people can't tell the difference between "x is wrong, therefore illegal" and its converse.