Veena Dubal

Veena Dubal
Our Faculty
Full-Time Faculty
Veena Dubal
Profile
Veena Dubal
Professor of Law
Expertise:
Employment and Labor Law
Background:
Professor Veena Dubal’s research focuses broadly on law, technology, and precarious workers, combining legal and empirical analysis to explore issues of labor and inequality. Her work encompasses a range of topics, including the impact of digital technologies and emerging legal frameworks on workers' lives, the interplay between law, work, and identity, and the role of law and lawyers in solidarity movements.
Professor Dubal has written numerous articles in top law and social science journals and publishes essays in the popular press. Her research has been cited internationally in legal decisions, including by the California Supreme Court, and her research and commentary are regularly featured in media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, NPR, CNN, etc. TechCrunch has called Prof. Dubal an “unlikely star in the tech world,” and her expertise is frequently sought by regulatory bodies, legislators, judges, workers, and unions in the U.S. and Europe.  Professor Dubal is completing a book manuscript that presents a theoretical reappraisal of how low-income immigrant and racial minority workers experience and respond to shifting technologies and regulatory regimes. The manuscript draws upon a decade of interdisciplinary ethnographic research on taxi and ride-hail regulations and worker organizing and advocacy in San Francisco.
Prof. Dubal received a B.A. from Stanford University and holds J.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, where she conducted an ethnography of the San Francisco taxi industry. The subject of her doctoral research arose from her work as a public interest attorney and Berkeley Law Foundation Fellow at the Asian Law Caucus where she founded a taxi worker project and represented Muslim Americans in civil rights cases. Prof. Dubal completed a post-doctoral fellowship at her alma mater, Stanford University. She returned to Stanford again in 2022 as a Residential Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences.  Prof. Dubal is the recipient of numerous awards and grants, including the Fulbright, for her scholarship and previous work as a public interest lawyer.
(Log in to view full course descriptions in the
UCI Law Course Catalog
Recent Publications
Data Laws at Work, Yale Law Journal Forum
(January 31, 2025)
Digital Labor Platforms as Machines of Production, Yale Journal of Law & Technology (2024) (with Vitor Araújo Filguieras)
The Legal Uncertainties of Gig Work, in The Oxford Handbook of the Law of Work (Guy Davidov, Brian Langille, Gillian Lester eds. 2024)
The New Racial Wage Code
15 Harvard Law & Policy Review 511
(2022).
Essentially Dispossessed
121 South Atlantic Auarterly 285
(2022).
Entrepreneurial Opportunity or Racial Injustice? Understanding the Third Category of Worker. T
he Regulatory Review.
Spring 2022.
Sectoral Bargaining Reforms: Proceed with Caution.
31 New Labor Forum 11
(2021).
Economic Security & the Regulation of Gig Work in California: From AB5 to Prop 22
13 European Labor Law Journal 51
(2021).
Book Review of Union by Law: Filipino American Labor Activists, Rights Radicalism, & Racial Capitalism
. By Michael McCann & George I. Lovell.
55 Law & Society Review 521
(2021).
An Uber Ambivalence: Employee Status, Workers Perspectives, & Regulation in the Gig Economy
, in B
eyond the Algorithm Qualitative Insights for Regulating Gig Work
. (Deepa Das Acevedo ed., 2020).
The Time Politics of Digital Piecework
2020 Center on Ethics Journal 50
(2020). Translated into Portuguese & re-published in
Teoria Jurídica Contemporânea
(Brazilian
Journal of Contemporary Legal Theory
).
Disrupting Regulation, Regulating Disruption: The Politics of Uber in the United States
16 Perspectives on Politics 919
(2018). (co-authored with Ruth Collier & Christopher Carter)
Influenza Mandates & Religious Accommodation: Avoiding Legal Pitfalls
46 Journal of Law & Medical Ethics 756
(2018). (co-authored with Dorit Reiss Rubenstein)
Wage-Slave or Entrepreneur? Contesting the Dualism of Legal Worker Categories
105 California Law Review 65
(2017).
The Drive to Precarity: A Political History of Work, Regulation, & Labor Advocacy in San Francisco’s Taxi & Uber Economies
38 Berkeley Journal of Employment & Labor Law 73
(2017).
Winning the Battle, Losing the War? Assessing the Impact of Misclassification Litigation on Workers in the Gig Economy
2017 Wisconsin Law Review 739
(2017).
Labor Platforms & Gig Work: The Failure to Regulate in the U.S.
IRLE Working Paper 106-117. (2017). (co-authored with Ruth Collier & Christopher Carter)
Recent and Upcoming Events
March 3, 2026
Lecture, 2026 Gruber Distinguished Lecture in Global Justice, “Contemporary Challenges in Higher Education,” Gruber Program for Global Justice and Women’s Rights, Yale Law School
February 2026
Discussant, “Organizing the Unorganized,” 2026 Association of Law & Political Economy Conference (Feb. 7, 2026)
Organizer, “Politics and Organizing Workers” and “Academic Freedom and LPE” Organizing Sessions, 2026 Association of Law & Political Economy Conference
Discussant, “Movement Law and Organizing at Perilous Times,” Plenary Session, 2026 Association of Law & Political Economy Conference
October 2025
Keynote speaker, “Data Rights at Work: A Comparative Perspective,” Fourth Edition Lawtomation Days: Technology and (Dis)Trust — AI Between Confidence and Controversy, IE University (IE Law School), Madrid, Spain
July 2025
Presenter, Critical Justice Initiative Summer Workshop 2025: The Law and Political Economy of Legal Education, Seattle University School of Law
June 2025
Keynote, Countervailing Platform, Power Conference, Scuola, Normale Superiore, Florence, Italy
June 2025
Keynote, Work Futures Observatory, Conference, Nottingham, Trent University
March 6, 2025
HR Workshop, “Racialized Workforces, Digital Technologies, and Transnational Labor,” Yale Law School
September 2024
Data Rights at Work, What is Data Panel, Law and Political Economy of Technology Workshop, Harvard University
September 2024
Data Rights at Work, Worker and Employer Power in the American Political Economy Workshop, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
August 2024
Data Rights at Work, VII Seminário Nacional do Movimento Advocacia Trabalhista Independente, Sao Paulo, Brazil
May 2024
Panelist, Regulatory Challenges of Gig Work, The Algorithmic Workplace, Northeastern University
May 2024
Myth and Measurement of Wages in Digitalized Labor Management, American Bar Foundation Speaker Series
February 9, 2024
ClassCrits XIV
themed “Demanding Justice in the Face of Retrenchment: Finding Common Ground and Building Coalition Across Borders.” Keynote speaker and panel discussion “Race, Work and Twenty-First Century Organizing
Recent Honors
Prof. Veena Dubal was appointed general counsel of the American Association of University Professors
In the Media
Morningstar: Employers are using your personal data to figure out the lowest salary you’ll accept
CalMatters: Uber ballot initiative sparks showdown with lawyers, doctors
Los Angeles Times: Trump administration drops appeal of court order blocking $1.2-billion UCLA settlement
UC Irvine Law Rings in 2026 with National Leadership Roles in Law, Policy and Academia
UC Irvine Law Faculty Excel in National Scholarly Impact Rankings
UC Irvine Law Leadership and Presenters at 2026 AALS Annual Meeting
Politico: 5 Questions for Veena Dubal*
HeinOnline Ranks UC Irvine Law Faculty Among Nation’s Most-Cited Scholars
Los Angeles Times: Judge blocks Trump administration push to fine UCLA $1.2 billion for alleged antisemitism
The New York Times: Judge Orders Trump Not to Threaten University of California’s Funding*
Faculty Roundup | October 2025
Politico: How California reached the unthinkable: A union deal with tech giants
CalMatters: California Uber and Lyft drivers closer to being able to unionize after crucial vote
Faculty Roundup | September 2025
Los Angeles Times: Newsom, California lawmakers strike deal that would allow Uber, Lyft drivers to unionize*
San Francisco Chronicle: Uber and Lyft sign off on deal to let California ride-hail drivers unionize
WBUR: More than money: What a Harvard deal with Trump could mean for academia
Reason: Safe Spaces Are Coming Back to Brown University—All Thanks to Trump
Domani: In the age of algorithms, work has become a game of chance.*
Faculty Roundup | July 2025
The New York Times: Arrest of Union Leader Highlights Link Between Workers’ and Immigrants’ Rights
The Washington Post: How a Georgetown scholar went from ‘quiet’ researcher to detainee
The Hechinger Report: In Some States, Colleges Face a Double Dose of DOGE
The Washington Post: Some foreign students fear speaking out as visa cancellations rise
Law and Political Economy: Eight Legal Experts on Trump’s Assault on Higher Education
LAist: Uber, CA settlement
The Associated Press: After Columbia arrests, international college students fall silent
Faculty Roundup | March 2025
The Washington Post: States eye bans on ‘surveillance pricing’ that exploits personal data
Faculty Roundup | February 2025
UC Irvine Law Rings in 2025 with National Leadership Roles in Law, Policy and Academia
Law.com: Professors Association Appoints New GC at Fractious Time
Professor Veena Dubal Appointed as General Counsel for the American Association of University Professors
LAist: Your Amazon delivery driver doesn’t actually work for Amazon. A union drive in Southern California is challenging that
UC Irvine Law Leadership and Presenters at 2025 AALS Annual Meeting: “Courage in Action”
The New York Times: Ride-Hailing Drivers in Massachusetts Win Right to Unionize
Consumer Financial Protection Circular: Prof. Veena Dubal’s Work on Algorithmic Wage Discrimination Cited
More Perfect Union: Prof. Veena Dubal’s Research on Algorithmic Wage Discrimination Featured in Video
CalMatters: What California lawmakers did to regulate artificial intelligence
Common Dreams: Don’t Take Rideshare Companies at Their Word When It Comes to Worker Pay (Opinion)
Bloomberg Law: California Gig Workers to Remain Contractors, Prop 22 Upheld
CalMatters: Uber, Lyft, DoorDash workers remain contractors due to California Supreme Court ruling
The New York Times: In Win for Uber and Lyft, California Court Upholds Gig-Worker Proposition
Orange County Register: California gig worker law AB 5 withstands challenge from Uber
The Guardian: Uber and Lyft made a deal to raise drivers’ wages. It was another victory for big tech
Los Angeles Times: In final round of gig drivers’ fight over Prop. 22, California Supreme Court to decide if it stays
NPR: Seattle City Council takes up changes to new minimum wage law
The New York Times: A Look at Washington State’s ‘Strippers’ Bill of Rights’*
NPR: Uber and Lyft threaten to halt operations in Minneapolis over minimum wage law
Marketplace: Labor Department wants to get more gig workers on company payrolls
UCI Law Leadership and Presenters at 2024 AALS Annual Meeting: “Defending Democracy”
Fast Company: Is Biden doing enough to protect workers from AI?
The Washington Post: Labor wins bolster Biden’s strategy (Op-ed)
The New York Times: California’s New Senator Was a Labor Leader. Why Are Unions Upset With Her?
PBS: 3 experts on the UAW strike and why we’re seeing an American labor ‘upsurge’
Slate: The Devilish Change Uber and Lyft Made to Surge Pricing
Fast Company: How Uber and Lyft quietly fund worker groups to pump the brakes on drivers organizing
Market Watch: As Uber drivers complain of deactivations and ‘policies that keep us in poverty,’ company issues its own civil-rights audit
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s
Consumer Financial Protection Circular 2024-06
titled, “Background Dossiers and Algorithmic Scores for Hiring, Promotion, and Other Employment Decisions,” which relies heavily on Prof. Dubal’s research paper, “On Algorithmic Wage Discrimination”
The New York Times:
California’s New Senator Was a Labor Leader. Why Are Unions Upset With Her?
PBS Newshour:
3 experts on the UAW strike and why we’re seeing an American labor ‘upsurge’
Slate:
The Devilish Change Uber and Lyft Made to Surge Pricing
Fast Company:
How Uber and Lyft quietly fund worker groups to pump the brakes on drivers organizing
MarketWatch:
As Uber drivers complain of deactivations and ‘policies that keep us in poverty,’ company issues
its own civil-rights audit
BBC:
Will workers be paid differently in the age of AI?
Contact Information
401 E. Peltason Drive
Law 4500-D
Irvine, CA 92697-8000
(949) 824-4794
vdubal@law.uci.edu
Faculty Support
Justine Wang
jwang@law.uci.edu
Related Links
Professor Dubal’s Scholarship on SSRN
Curriculum Vitae
Veena Dubal's CV
Education
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 2014, Jurisprudence & Social Policy
J.D., University of California, Berkeley School of Law, 2006
B.A. (with honors), Stanford University, 2003, International Relations