Supreme Court denies, for the 4th time, employment relationship between driver and transportation app

The decision comes as the Labor Court ordered Uber to pay R$1 billion if it fails to register its approximately 700,000 drivers.

Supreme Federal Court (STF) Minister Luiz Fux on Thursday (28) overturned two more labor decisions that declared the existence of an employment relationship between a transportation app driver and the Cabify platform.

In total, the Supreme Federal Court (STF) has already ruled on this matter four times, following two others issued by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, adding fuel to the fire regarding the issue nationwide. Less than 15 days ago, the Labor Court (first instance) ordered Uber to pay R$1 billion if it fails to register its approximately 700,000 drivers.

The decisions overturned the rulings of the Regional Labor Court of the 3rd Region (TRT3), which considered that the requirements for establishing an employment relationship were present (subordination, personal nature, non-eventuality and onerous nature).

Although an appeal is still possible, the decisions recognize that there is no employment relationship in these relationships and also set limits on decisions made by the Labor Court in this regard, according to lawyer Ana Carolina Albuquerque Leite, from Chiode Minicucci Advogados (the firm that represents Cabify in the lawsuits).

The issue is controversial because some Labor Courts have accepted the relationship, while others believe it isn't. "The Supreme Court has so far shown that there is no relationship. But there hasn't yet been a general impact on all cases," he stated. Until then, the issue promises to spark much discussion. "But recent decisions already indicate that the Supreme Court will soon decide in a full court and establish case law."

The Attorney General's Office requested that case law on complaints be standardized, given that between 2019 and June 2023 alone, more than 780,000 cases involving requests for recognition of employment relationships reached specialized courts, indicating the social impact of the issue.

Text originally published on September 29, 2023 on the Infomoney website.