The San Francisco City Attorney has taken legal action against a delivery and moving company, accusing it of systemic worker misclassification. On April 18, 2025, David Chiu, the City Attorney for San Francisco, filed a complaint in the Superior Court of California against GoShare Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its CEO Shaun Savage. The lawsuit alleges that GoShare has been improperly classifying its drivers as independent contractors rather than employees since it began operations in California in 2015.
According to the complaint, GoShare's business model relies on misclassifying its workforce to reduce costs and gain an unfair competitive advantage over companies that comply with labor laws. The complaint highlights that this practice deprives workers of essential employment protections such as minimum wage, overtime pay, paid sick leave, and other benefits mandated by law. "This systemic and continuous worker misclassification was at all times conducted while GoShare was under the leadership of Defendant Savage," the filing states.
The case draws attention to California's strict "ABC" test for determining employment status under Assembly Bill 5 (A.B. 5), which codified the Dynamex decision by the California Supreme Court. Under this law, workers are presumed to be employees unless specific criteria are met. The plaintiffs argue that GoShare fails to meet these criteria because its drivers perform work central to GoShare’s business under its control and direction.
The City Attorney is seeking injunctive relief to stop GoShare from continuing its alleged unlawful practices. Additionally, they are pursuing restitution for affected workers and civil penalties for each violation of California's Business and Professions Code section 17200 et seq., which could amount to $2,500 per infraction. Furthermore, they seek additional penalties if violations were committed against senior citizens or disabled persons.
Representing the People of the State of California in this case are attorneys from the San Francisco City Attorney's Office: David Chiu as City Attorney; Yvonne R. Mere as Chief Deputy City Attorney; Matthew D. Goldberg as Chief Worker Protection Attorney; Ian H. Eliasoph; and Maureen Slack as Deputy City Attorneys. The case is filed under Case No. CGC-25-624506 in the Superior Court of California for San Francisco County.