It's not just California, Uber faces legal challenges around the world

Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft Inc are preparing to suspend their ride-hailing services in California beginning on Friday morning unless a last-minute court ruling prevents them from being forced to treat their drivers as employees, rather than independent contractors

But California is not the only one. Here are some of the other major legal challenges Uber faces around the world:

FRANCE

France's top court in March recognized the right of an Uber driver to be considered an employee, a ruling that could upend the U.S. firm's business model and potentially require it to pay more taxes and benefits such as paid holidays.

The Cour de Cassation upheld a previous decision by a court of appeal, saying the Uber driver could not qualify as a self-employed contractor because he could not build his own clientele or set his own prices, making him a subordinate of the company.

UNITED KINGDOM

In 2017, Transport for London removed Uber's license in the capital, citing failings in its approach to reporting serious criminal offences and background checks on drivers. 

In 2018, it was given a 15-month license in London after making changes to improve relations with city authorities. 

The firm's roughly 45,000 drivers in London can continue to take rides until the appeals process is exhausted, which may last months or years.

UNITED STATES

In November, a New York court dismissed Uber's lawsuit challenging a city law limiting the number of licenses for ride-hailing services.

Uber sought in September to get a new rule overturned that limits how much time drivers can spend cruising busy Manhattan streets without passengers.

A U.S. judge in May ordered Uber to face a lawsuit claiming its illegal predatory pricing and other anticompetitive practices stifled competition, and drove rival Sidecar Technologies Inc out of business.

As U.S. lawmakers threaten tighter regulation, Uber and Lyft skipped a U.S. congressional hearing in October 2019 on the industry's safety, labor and congestion.

In September 2019, an Uber driver sued the company for misclassifying its drivers as independent contractors. In March of last year, the company paid $20 million to settle a long-running lawsuit brought by drivers claiming they were employees and entitled to certain wage protections.

BRAZIL

A Brazilian higher court for labour in February ruled there was no employment relationship between Uber and its drivers, siding with the ride-hailing company against a Sao Paulo driver.

AUSTRALIA

In May 2019, a law firm filed a class action on behalf of thousands of taxi and chartered drivers, accusing the company of operating illegally and harming them financially.

GERMANY

Germany's highest court ruled in December 2018 that a defunct limousine service offered by Uber but taken out of service in 2014 was illegal, a setback for the company in Europe's largest economy.

NETHERLANDS

In March of 2019, Uber paid around 2.3 million euros ($2.5 million) to settle a case that found it had offered unlicensed taxi services in 2014-2015.

British and Dutch regulators in 2018 fined Uber for failing to protect customers' personal information during a 2016 cyber attack involving millions of users.

INDIA

In November 2018, the country ruled that ride-sharing firms Uber and Ola did not break price-fixing rules following a complaint about their pricing strategy.

AUSTRIA

Uber was suspended for two days in 2018 due to a local taxi firm's lawsuit but resumed operations after making concessions.