Uber driver, who says he was once paid under $2 per hour, advances labor lawsuit

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A federal judge in North Carolina ruled Wednesday in favor of an Uber driver who is suing the company, paving the way for a possible notable expansion of the lawsuit.

In 2016, Michael Hood, an Uber driver, claimed in a proposed class-action lawsuit last year that he has been misclassified as an independent contractor rather than an employee, and as such is consistently being paid below minimum wage after expenses. At one point in 2015, after expenses, Hood alleges he made less than $2 per hour-well below North Carolina's minimum wage at the time, which was $7.25 per hour.

His case is one of more than a dozen such cases pending against Uber that have attempted to make a legal determination as to whether this distinction is proper, and if it is not, what should be done about it. Other lawsuits against other so-called "gig economy" startups are also pending as well.

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