It seems to go without saying Employee protection laws are for the benefit and protection of the Employee. The law specifically prohibits employers from improp

It seems to go without saying Employee protection laws are for the benefit and protection of the Employee. The law specifically prohibits employers from improperly reclassifying employees as independent contracts by simply titling a worker agreement/contract as an Independent Contractor Agreement in lieu of an Employment Agreement. If these drivers want to be independent contractors and not employees, great, if these laws were fully enforced from the beginning it would be the drivers that organized and owned the ride sharing business and UBER would have never been able to compete with them (UBER's own S-1 admits this risk, and acknowledges if drivers were Employees it would be an existential threat to their business). Its also no surprise this legal inevitability comes after their public offering. Sure many gig workers may not want to be employees, but they were, they just were not being provided the benefits and protections. I don't think the politicians are the only ones who benefited clearly the UBER investors and private shareholders pre-IPO were the single largest beneficiary. Is there any reason on the merits you disagree with the current legal standards distinguishing employee vs independent contractor? I mean the drivers desires is not part of the standard, and in fairness, I don't think you are able to collectively speak on behalf of all drivers and say that's what they wanted, clearly based on the number of lawsuits and employment claims many of them did want the employee status and benefits that come with it.