Proposition 22 exempts delivery apps and ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft, pioneers of the digital gig economy, from classifying drivers as employees. This means that companies do not need to provide benefits such as health insurance. (Drivers working minimum hours per week must be provided with health insurance benefits.)
The Service Employees International Union, which has filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate Proposition 22, said it is considering appealing to the California Supreme Court.
Uber, Lyft and other gig economy apps put $200 million into campaigns to pass Proposition 22. The bill passed with about 59% of the vote, but some voters said they misunderstood the ballot questions and said they were meant to give drivers more benefits. Not a few.
The Court of Appeal said most of Prop 22 was constitutional. You are hired as a contractor, not as an employee.
but, By requiring the state legislature to amend the bill with an overwhelming seven-eighth majority, it repealed the portion of the bill that restricted drivers’ ability to unionize. Regarding this requirement, the court stated in its judgment on page 63: “It effectively locks in the status quo that drivers cannot bargain collectively.”
This matched the Court of Appeals with Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch, who ruled in 2021 that the threshold is “almost impossibly difficult.”
Gig worker and plaintiff in the lawsuit, Mike Robinson, said in a statement issued by the SEIU that he believed Proposition 22 was unconstitutional “in its entirety” but reaffirmed drivers’ ability to form unions. I am grateful to the court for doing so.
“Drivers have always led this movement. To ensure that gig drivers and delivery workers have access to the same rights and protections afforded to other workers in California, California’s highest We will follow their lead as we consider all options, including seeking review from the courts, California,” said Tia Orr, executive director of SEIU California, in a statement.
Uber’s chief legal officer, Tony West, said in a statement that the ruling was “a win for app-based workers,” and that Prop. 22 would “retain the unique flexibility of app-based work while allowing them It will give new benefits to the
In a statement, Lyft said it was “delighted that the court upheld the democratic will of voters” and that it would continue to operate as normal. His two ride-hailing companies previously suggested they would cease operations in California if the law did not allow them to classify their drivers as contractors.
According to Lyft, one of the benefits offered by Prop 22 is that gig workers must earn at least 120% of the minimum wage for the “reserved time,” or between accepting a ride or delivery and dropping off a passenger or goods, according to Lyft. is that there is
However, “reservation time” does not include time spent waiting for a valuable ride or delivery offer. University of California, Berkeley Labor Center found In our 2019 analysis, Proposition 22’s guaranteed wage equates to $5.64 an hour. The Center found that various “loopholes” contributed to the gap, such as not counting wait times as working hours.
proposition need Provide healthcare benefits to drivers with 15 or more hours of “reservation time” per week.
Shares of Uber, Lyft and delivery app DoorDash rose in after-hours trading.
