Responsibility for Injuries of Taxi, Uber Drivers uncertain

As California, New York and even the U.S. Department of Labor move toward recognition of rideshare drivers as employees instead of independent contractors, Washington state is moving in the opposite direction. As of Friday, drivers for taxi companies and rideshare companies alike are exempt from requirements to purchase workers’ compensation insurance. Where that leaves drivers when they have a work injury is up in the air. The Washington Department of Labor & Industries, which has a monopoly on workers’ compensation insurance coverage in the state, ...