The fight over whether gig workers are independent contractors or employees has been heating up this week on both state and federal levels. The stakes? A once disruptive business model could soon be disrupted itself.
On the state level, this week has seen developments in the Proposition 22 saga as companies relying on gig workers put forth a slew of arguments against last year's ruling that the law was unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable. Prop 22, a California ballot initiative, passed into law in 2020, allowing app-based ride-hail and delivery companies to continue classifying gig workers as independent contractors rather than employees. In August 2021, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch found the law conflicts with the state Constitution by restricting the legislature’s ability to regulate workers’ compensation rules.
In response to Roesch's ruling, the very same coalition of major gig companies -- like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart -- that spent millions on advertising to convince Californians to vote for Prop 22 filed an appeal to overturn the court ruling. On Tuesday, they called the challenge to Prop 22 an "attack on voters' direct democracy powers" and out of line with California's legacy of "guard[ing] voter initiative powers and uphold[ing] their acts wherever possible."
The rehashing of this issue comes as the public comment period for the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed independent contractor rule comes to a close. The rule, put...
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