This Memorial Day, Advocates for Fairness in Transportation pauses to express our deepest appreciation to the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who made the ultimate sacrifice so we might live in freedom, and we renew our commitment to support our troops, their families and our veterans.

Florida says Uber driver is employee, not contractor

Florida has decided that Uber drivers are not freelance contractors, as Uber has long claimed them to be, but are, in fact, employees of the company. The decision, brought by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, upends the very business model that has propelled Uber to a $41 billion startup that has steamrolled across markets from Beirut to Boise, and is bound to be vigorously protested by the company.

Read more from Silicon Beat

Driving for an Uber price surge? Video raises questions

An online video is raising questions about whether Uber drivers can jack up prices right before picking up a customer. It's part of what some are calling driving for a surge. Gadi Schwartz reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Monday, May 18, 2015.

Watch more from NBC4 Los Angeles 

Uber losing bid for broad Texas rideshare law

Uber Technologies Inc.'s attempt to replace a patchwork of local rules in Texas with a state law regulating its car-booking business is headed for defeat because lawmakers have yet to act on a key measure with only days remaining in the legislative session. Barring a last-minute change of course in the Capitol in Austin, the company will walk away empty-handed in the second-most populous state as it seeks to expand after reports this month said a new round of funding would boost its valuation to an estimated $50 billion.

Read more from The Salt Lake Tribune

Uber accused of asking driver to make false allegations

Uber was accused of forcing a driver into making false allegations against cab drivers in Brussels, in the latest twist in Europe's increasingly rancorous taxi wars. A driver for the taxi-booking company complained to Belgian police that he had been surrounded by cab drivers on Saturday morning, who forced him to hand over his mobile phone. But on Tuesday, the individual recanted and said that he had made up the accusation at the behest of the San Francisco company with a valuation of $40bn.

Read more from Financial Times

Uber dealt fresh blow by French court

Uber Technologies Inc. lost a round in its ongoing legal battles in Europe, when a French court upheld parts of a transport law aimed at reining in the California-based car-hailing firm. The decision is a fresh blow to Uber, which faces a more important ruling on other elements of a law passed last October, in particular one that criminalizes Uber's low-cost service, Uberpop, which uses drivers without commercial licenses. 

Read more from The Wall Street Journal

FBI investigates Uber account information leak

Uber is under FBI investigation to determine how London users of the popular car-hailing app have been charged for rides they report not to have booked or taken, the Guardian reported Saturday. In March, Uber account login credentials were found to be for sale online via "dark web" markets, Vice's Motherboard reported. One vendor, Courvoisier, told Motherboard he had thousands of "hacked accounts." Two Uber users contacted by Motherboard confirmed their leaked usernames and passwords were correct. Since the report, Uber users have come forward and reported charges for rides they did not take.

Read more from International Business Times

Woman says Uber taxi driver held her hostage

What should have been a short taxi ride instead turned into a nightmare for one woman who says the driver, whom she booked through the Uber app, became violent and refused to let her out of the taxi. "It's not like he's letting me out, so I don't know what to do," said Chicago resident Jacqueline Cardona. "I'm pretty much stunned and I'm very scared for my life." Cardona said the driver nearly missed the turn to her house, and when she pointed that out, he lost it. 

Read more from NBC Chicago

On-demand workers face low pay, limited flexibility

The 1099 economy, also known as the on-demand economy and the sharing economy, offers less flexibility than workers expect, according to a survey released Wednesday by Requests for Startups. While the survey focused on four on-demand industry segments that are not specifically tech-related, the findings reflect a level of worker dissatisfaction that is worth considering for IT organizations that are relying heavily on contractors instead of full-time staff.

Read more from Information Week

Transition to Uber and Lyft leaves disabled at curb

Articles are in the news frequently about the ride-sharing companies, Uber and Lyft. Classified as Transportation Network Companies, they have become very popular here in Tampa and all over the U.S. and nations throughout the world, especially with the millennial generation. They are generally cheaper and quicker to hail than taxis. But you rarely read anything about the fact that they do not provide accessible transportation service to mobility-impaired passengers who use wheelchairs, canes, walkers, crutches and have guide dogs.

Read more from the Tampa Tribune

Why the disabled are suing Uber and Lyft

Ride hailing services Uber and Lyft are on the same side for once: They both deny accusations they discriminate against disabled passengers. The two companies are named as defendants in a smattering lawsuits from California to Texas alleging they violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to make their cars handicapped accessible. In some courts, Uber and Lyft are even named as co-defendants in a single case-putting the rivals, awkwardly, in the same boat.

Read more from Time

Driving Uber mad

Standing in front of the Sunset Tower Hotel, I tapped my Uber app and saw five little cars swarming around my location. But, suddenly, they scattered in the opposite direction. I stood in the driveway, perplexed. Finally, a car pulled up, and the driver waved me in. "Do you know why no one wanted to pick you up?" he asked. "Because you have a low rating." I was shocked. Blinded by the wondrous handiness of Uber, I had missed the fact that while I got to rate them, they got to rate me back.

Read more by Maureen Dowd in the New York Times

Uber tests taking even more from its drivers with 30% commission

Ride-hailing service Uber is testing, again, to see whether new drivers are willing to do the same job as others for less pay. Uber is bumping up some drivers' commission to 30%, its highest level ever, the company told Forbes. In a new pilot program in San Francisco, a small percentage of new UberX drivers will pay a 30% commission on their first 20 rides in a week, 25% on their next 20 rides, and then 20% on any rides beyond that. 

Read more from Forbes