Why Uber to pay New Jersey $100 million?

Uber as well as one of its affiliates have paid 100 million dollars to New Jersey after an audit by the state's Department of Labor and Workforce Development found that the ride-sharing company was not properly registering hundreds of many drivers in the state as self-employed contractors. Individuals who are classified as independent contractors do not receive benefits like the temporary disability, unemployment, or families leave coverage. This classification also means that employers don't pay tax on unemployment or other funds. The New Jersey Department of Labor on Tuesday announced that Uber and its subsidiary, Raiser LLC, had paid $78 million of past due taxes and the interest amount of $22 million. The amount was the most ever made within New Jersey, and covered more than 300,000 drivers. The agency stressed that those who have been misclassified aren't in any way responsible. You can find more information on their rights on the specific website. "For over a century our governors, legislatures , and the people who voted have made New Jersey one of the top states for working. We will not budge to the demands of corporations new business models that have been based on the destruction of the protections that have been in place for a long time," New Jersey Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro Angelo said in a statement on Tuesday, announcing the pay. Uber stressed that despite the money that it makes, it views its drivers as contractors who are independent and plans to collaborate with policymakers on the classification. "Drivers from New Jersey and nationally are independent contractors that work when and wherever they likeAn overwhelming majority perform this kind of work due to their desire for flexibility." Josh Gold, an Uber spokesperson said to CNN Business in a statement Tuesday. "We are looking forward to working with policymakers to provide benefits while maintaining the flexibility drivers seek." Uber and other gig-based companies have been able to increase their business by treating employees as independent contractors, and not paying benefits employees are legally entitled as workers. The payment of $100 million is only a tiny only a fraction of the amount the state's audit had originally demanded, following that the state's Department of Labor examined the firms' financial records during a five-year span from 2014 through 2018. The state's labor agency stated that the updated figure of $100 million was based on additional information supplied to Uber and Raiser following the initial audit. Asaro-Angelo has slammed the notion that the distinction between independent contractors and drivers was about the ability to work from anywhere. "These firms often rely on the myth that employees are unable to exercise the ability to work from home, but this is not the case," Asaro-Angelo added in his statement. "Let's be very clear There is no reason that temporary, or workers on-demand who work in flexible hours or minutes at a time , can't be treated the same way as other workers who are employed in New Jersey or any other state." Uber's driver classification has caused controversy throughout the United States all the way across the country, from New Jersey to California for many years since gig economic giants have vigorously fought in court and in other venues to define workers as independent contractors.