Independent Contractor (Driver): What It Means

An independent contractor is someone who works for themselves instead of being an employee. Most NYC TLC drivers, including Uber and Lyft drivers, are treated as independent contractors: they are paid per trip, get 1099 forms instead of W-2s, and have no employer wage. But your status is not the same under every law. For some purposes New York treats you like an employee.

In one sentence: "independent contractor" is your default status, but workers' comp, the city's human rights law and some unemployment cases treat drivers differently.

Why it matters to drivers

Your status decides which protections you get. The table shows what we found in official sources:

• Workers' comp. The BCF's history page says the industry's drivers "are independent contractors; however, for the purposes of the state statute," drivers of Member Bases are the Fund's employees for workers' comp. See Black Car Fund. Livery drivers have a separate fund: ILDBF.
• Discrimination. Local Law 172 of 2019 changed the NYC Human Rights Law so that its employee protections "apply to interns, freelancers and independent contractors." See NYC human rights law for drivers.
• Unemployment. In Matter of Lowry (Dec 17, 2020), the Appellate Division, Third Department, affirmed the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board's finding of an employment relationship, saying Uber "controls the drivers' access to their customers, calculates and collects the fares and sets the drivers' rate of compensation." The case was about Uber drivers in upstate New York, not New York City, so it did not decide the status of NYC drivers (Mondaq summary). Uber's April 2026 NYC benefits page says drivers "may be eligible" for unemployment insurance and that Uber contributes "in accordance with state requirements."

Where you will see this term

• In your Uber, Lyft or base agreement.
• On Drivers Benefits and Black Car Fund pages, in disclaimers.
• On tax forms: Form 1099-K and Form 1099-NEC.
• In debates about unions, since a contractor has no employer contract to bargain: NYC driver unions and advocacy groups.

Common mix-ups

• Independent contractor vs medallion owner-driver. Owning a medallion makes you a business owner in a different way: taxi medallion types explained and independent medallion.
• Independent contractor vs livery or black car. Those are vehicle and base types, not work status.
• "Independent" vs "employee" is not all-or-nothing. The same driver can be a contractor for taxes and an employee for workers' comp.