Uber and Lyft drivers win court ruling to be treated as contractors in California
Christopher Hutton
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A California appeals court upheld a state ballot measure that classified Uber and Lyft drivers as contractors instead of employees.
The three judges overturned a 2022 ruling by a California Superior Court judge on Monday, allowing Proposition 22 to remain state law. The decision is a victory for gig-based companies such as Uber, which rely on contracts with workers. The decision will allow Uber to continue to hire drivers without needing to provide benefits such as health insurance.
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“Today’s ruling is a historic victory for the nearly 1.4 million drivers who rely on the independence and flexibility of app-based work to earn income and for the integrity of California’s initiative system,” the Protect App-Based Drivers + Services coalition said in a press statement. “The Appeals Court upheld the fundamental policy behind the measure — to protect the independent contractor status of app-based drivers in California while providing drivers with new benefits.”
California lawmakers passed Assembly Bill 5 in September 2019, which required companies in the state to treat gig workers as employees. Uber, Lyft, and other tech companies spent $220 million the following year to campaign for Proposition 22, which would require app-based workers to be treated as contractors. The measure passed by a wide margin. A group of critics, including the Service Employees International Union, filed a suit in 2021 to overturn the suit, which initially succeeded.
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“Every California voter should be concerned about corporations’ growing influence in our democracy and their ability to spend millions of dollars to deceive voters and buy themselves laws,” the union’s state leader, David Huerta, told the New York Times.
The union can still attempt to appeal the decision in the California Supreme Court.