Attorneys for Uber Technologies Inc., Postmates Inc., and two gig workers want a federal appeals court to invalidate California’s worker classification law as unconstitutional and to block its enforcement.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday will hear oral arguments that the California law to determine who’s an independent contractor and who’s an employee is irrational, treats similarly situated individuals and professions disparately, and discriminates against certain technology platforms like Uber by exempting errand-based apps like TaskRabbit that use the same driver and courier model.
Under California’s law known as A.B. 5, a worker is presumed to be an employee unless the party hiring the person can show the worker is an independent contractor under a three-factor “ABC test.” The classification rule affects thousands of gig workers who get flexibility and lack employer-paid protections such as worker’s compensation and unemployment benefits.
The Ninth Circuit’s ultimate decision in the high-profile case likely will be appealed to the US Supreme Court.
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