Sao Paulo judge rules Uber drivers are employees, deserve benefits

An Uber driver holds his cell phone showing the queue to pick up passengers departing Guarulhos International Airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil, February 13, 2017. To match Insight UBER TECH-BRAZIL/ Picture taken February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Nacho Doce

SAO PAULO: A judge in Brazil's biggest city ruled this week that a driver using the Uber ride-hailing app is an employee of the San-Francisco-based company, threatening its business model in one of its biggest markets. 

Uber said it would appeal the decision on April 18 by Judge Eduardo Rockenbach Pires at the regional labor court in Sao Paulo, which was made public in recent days.