Uber et al win right ‘not’ to treat drivers as employees
It’s the case where the verdicts continue to yo-yo from one side to the other. In the latest round of court drama, it’s the ride-sharing/delivery app employers that have won out (this time anyway) – after a Californian court ruled that firms like Uber and Lyft ‘can’ continue to treat their workers as independent contractors rather than employees (as the drivers want). Despite groups claiming drivers are denied basic employee rights by being classified as independent contractors (everything from sick leave to holiday pay), a district court of appeal ruled that the proposed Proposition 22 (granting app-based transportation and delivery companies an exception to Assembly Bill 5 by classifying their drivers as independent contractors), ‘was’ constitutional. This overturns an August 2021 judgement by Frank Roesch, a superior court judge, which ruled that Proposition 22 was unconstitutional and therefore “unenforceable.” The likes of Uber, DoorDash and Lyft all saw their share price jump after this latest announcement. This reversal now preserves the independent contractor model in California, and could mean other states might follow suit.