
Minnie Che is a student at Harvard Law School.
With official results for the Presidential race still pending, California has passed Proposition 22, an exemption from California employment law that will allow Lyft and Uber to continue classifying workers as independent contractors. It was a closely scrutinized and costly battle. Lyft, Uber, joined by DoorDash, Instacart, and Postmates, put in over $204 million towards a campaign in support of the ballot measure. Labor unions, on the other hand, raised just $16 million, while California Governor Gavin Newsom declined to take a stand either way.
The Proposition won with 58% of the vote. It exempts gig companies from providing the full employment benefits required under state law but will require them to provide an hourly wage equal to 120% of either a local or statewide minimum wage. Uber and Lyft must also provide a stipend for drivers to purchase health insurance. However, work hours only include time spent picking up and driving a rider. It does not account for the time spent waiting in between trips. Drivers for Lyft and Uber will now have fewer rights than they did under AB5, a law passed in 2019 that changes the way companies classify employees. Labor unions state that they will continue to fight for “fair wages, sick pay and care when they’re hurt at work.” Gig Workers Rising, one of several California groups that organizes app-based workers and opposed the initiative, has called the ballot passage a “a loss for our democracy that could open the door to other attempts by corps to write their own laws.”
Daily News & Commentary
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August 1
The Michigan Supreme Court grants heightened judicial scrutiny over employment contracts that shorten the limitations period for filing civil rights claims; the California Labor Commission gains new enforcement power over tip theft; and a new Florida law further empowers employers issuing noncompete agreements.
July 31
EEOC sued over trans rights enforcement; railroad union opposes railroad merger; suits against NLRB slow down.
July 30
In today’s news and commentary, the First Circuit will hear oral arguments on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) revocation of parole grants for thousands of migrants; United Airlines’ flight attendants vote against a new labor contract; and the AFL-CIO files a complaint against a Trump Administrative Executive Order that strips the collective bargaining rights of the vast majority of federal workers.
July 29
The Trump administration released new guidelines for federal employers regarding religious expression in the workplace; the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers is suing former union president for repayment of mismanagement of union funds; Uber has criticized a new proposal requiring delivery workers to carry company-issued identification numbers.
July 28
Lower courts work out meaning of Muldrow; NLRB releases memos on recording and union salts.
July 27
In today’s news and commentary, Trump issues an EO on college sports, a second district court judge blocks the Department of Labor from winding down Job Corps, and Safeway workers in California reach a tentative agreement. On Thursday, President Trump announced an executive order titled “Saving College Sports,” which declared it common sense that “college […]