Welcome to the latest edition of AFT NewsWatch, a weekly service of Advocates for Fairness in Transportation, an ad hoc group of regulated transportation service companies dedicated to informing and educating the public on threats to public safety from new so-called ride-sharing or ride-booking services such as Uber, Lyft and Sidecar. Visit the Archive to read previous editions.

Uber: Proposed New Jersey bill would force company out of state

Uber's spokesman Matt Wing said the current bill New Jersey lawmakers are considering would be a death sentence for the company, WCBS 880's Jim Smith reported. The legislation calls for a number of new requirements, including requiring ride-hailing firms to display a Motor Vehicle Commission marker when drivers are searching for fares, background checks for drivers as well as safety inspections for vehicles.

Read more from CBS New York

Sony, Uber, and Sprint can count themselves among America's most hated companies

Sony, Uber, and Sprint didn't have a very good year in 2014 by any stretch of the imagination, and 24/7 Wall Street recognized their recent problems by adding them to the list of America's most hated companies. Public perception of Uber's car sharing service was tarnished this past year. The service has faced protests from traditional taxi firms around the world, due to accusations that the company ignores local regulations, including the failure to follow adequate safety procedures, such as vehicle and background checks.

Read more from Digital Trends

Meet the lawyer taking on Uber and the rest of the on-demand economy

Liss-Riordan, 45, has spent her entire legal career going after employers for allegedly short-changing their employees. She specializes in worker misclassification lawsuits-the illegal practice of companies who classify their workers as independent contractors, rather than normal employees, in order to avoid paying them benefits they're owed under federal law. She's filed class-action lawsuits on behalf of truck drivers, waiters, delivery men, cable installers, call center workers, and exotic dancers.

Read more from Fusion

Uber driver nabbed for stealing $5K worth of jewelry from Orthodox Jewish couple: cops

A devious Uber driver sneaked away with $5,000 worth of jewelry from an Orthodox Jewish couple before cops caught up with him, police said. Juan Morales, 51, of Brooklyn, drove the pair from Borough Park to Williamsburg on April 3 to celebrate Passover, according to JP Updates, which first reported the story. The woman realized she left her handbag in the cab only after sundown, and, in observance of the Jewish holiday, could not contact authorities.

Read more from the New York Daily News

Michigan grandfather with cancer takes up Uber driving to pay off home for family

A grandfather from Michigan who's been battling cancer for almost two years now was told 10 days ago he has about two to 10 weeks to live. Despite recommendations to look into hospice care, Kenneth Broskey, 69, is still working full-time as an Uber driver and real estate agent in the Detroit area. Broskey, from Livonia, told ABC News he's trying to raise as much money as he can so his daughter, 46, and his two grandchildren, ages 13 and nine, have a place to live when he's soon gone.

Read more from Good Morning America

California bill would force Uber to guard passenger privacy

Some Uber employees tracked trips of prominent people through the company's "God View tool." One executive threatened to do opposition research on journalists. Some reports allege that stolen Uber customer information is for sale on the Dark Web. Such disclosures have raised concerns about the ride-hailing company's privacy policy. Now, a bill pending in Sacramento would force Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing companies to follow stricter privacy rules. 

Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle

Oklahoma bill on Uber deletes protection for gay riders

A bill that sets up a regulatory framework in Oklahoma for ridesharing programs such as Uber and Lyft passed the state Senate but not before a provision protecting gay and transgender passengers from discrimination was removed. The version of the "Oklahoma Transportation Network Company Services Act" that passed the Republican-controlled Senate on a 35-11 vote defines such companies as those that use a digital network or software application to connect passengers and drivers. 

Read more from the Associated Press

Uber among region's biggest employers, but company begs to differ

More Bay Area residents drive for Uber than bag groceries at Safeway. In fact, the biggest Bay Area employers are Kaiser, city and county of San Francisco, UC Berkeley, UCSF and Uber. In the nine-county Bay Area, more than 20,000 people now drive for Uber, the San Francisco company said Tuesday. The number has more than doubled in a year. Of course, Uber would be the first to say that those drivers are definitely not employees. Uber's "driver partners" work as independent contractors. 

Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle

Uber banned in Geneva

Uber Technologies Inc. has been ordered to cease operations in Geneva, the company said, adding to the service's growing challenges in Europe, where it faces a backlash from taxi drivers and regulators. Uber said the Geneva cantonal government had found the car-hailing service to be in violation of local taxi regulations. The order effects the fast-growing company's UberX service, which allows drivers with professional licenses to connect with passengers via a mobile app.

Read more from The Wall Street Journal

New Orleans City Council passes ridesharing ordinance, but Uber and Lyft representatives still dissatisfied

After months of debate and reconfiguring, the New Orleans City Council passed a ridesharing ordinance that would allow digitally-based transportation companies to start giving rides in the city. The vote was 4-2. But both Uber and Lyft, ridesharing businesses that have been instrumental in getting the legislation off the ground, told Gambit they likely would be unable to operate due to 85 amendments made to the ordinance. 

Read more from Gambit

Uber-complicated: Insurance challenges for transportation network companies

Most personal automobile policies exclude transporting strangers for a fee through a "livery exclusion" in standard policies. Regulation of TNCs is in its infancy and, not surprisingly, the state leading the way is California. TNCs are quickly replacing taxis and limousines as a means of hiring transportation, but, whereas taxis and limousines are licensed by the state and are required to have commercial insurance protecting both passengers and third parties 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, no such licensing or insurance requirements currently exist for TNCs, so coverage gaps may well exist.

Read more from JD Supra Business Advisor