Australia probes Uber recruitment as drivers seek employee status

(FILES) This file photo taken on June 13, 2017 shows an Uber SUV waiting for a client in Manhattan in New York City. Uber said June 21, 2017 that its embattled chief executive Travis Kalanick had agreed to step down from his job, as the company tries to clean up a corporate culture that has sparked charges of harassment and discrimination. Kalanick had already been on a leave of absence aimed at restoring confidence in the scandal-plagued ridesharing giant. / AFP PHOTO / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / SPENCER PLATT

SYDNEY: Australia's workplace regulator said it is investigating US ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc over the way it recruits drivers, after a drivers group sought employee rather than subcontractor status. 

The Fair Work Ombudsman plans to focus on whether the San Francisco-based startup, which makes apps that allow people to book journeys on their smartphones, is in breach of Australian workplace rules, a spokesman said.