Prop 22 allows Uber and Lyft to classify drivers as independent contractors

A California Court of Appeal issued a ruling October 22 strictly applying the ABC independent contractor test and upholding a preliminary injunction requiring Uber and Lyft to stop classifying drivers as independent contractors. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, joined by city attorneys of Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, brought this action on behalf of the people.

Following the ruling, Becerra issued this statement:

The courts saw right through their arguments. In the midst of a COVID health and economic crisis, what worker can afford to be denied basic protections like paid sick leave, unemployment insurance, minimum wage, or overtime? Today’s decision comes on the same day that the federal government reports that more than one million Americans filed for unemployment benefits — and 3 of every 10 of them are gig workers or self-employed. But remember, companies like Uber and Lyft that classify gig workers as ‘independent contractors’ don’t pay into unemployment benefit funds for workers. That means that American taxpayers—not gig companies like Uber and Lyft—are covering the unemployment benefits that gig workers are receiving from the COVID bailout.