Uber and Lyft broke law by classifying drivers as contractors, court rules

But what happens if/when it comes to the U.S. supreme court?  Especially since we are probably about to have Amy Coney Barrett added, who is probably going to be a friend to big business.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/22/uber-lyft-california-court-ruling-contractors-ab5

 Kari Paul
Thu 22 Oct 2020 22.00 EDT 

A California appeals court has ruled that Uber and Lyft broke the law by misclassifying drivers as contractors rather than employees, a huge blow to the ride-hailing firms as they battle to protect their business model.

Uber and Lyft had previously threatened to shut down their services pending the decision, which would enforce a new labor law known as AB5. The law, which went into effect in January, requires companies to classify drivers as employees and provide them with a minimum wage and benefits.
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The 74-page opinion released on Thursday affirmed an injunction issued by another court in August, which ordered Uber and Lyft to comply with AB5. Labor advocates called Thursday’s ruling “a huge victory for workers” but warned the ride-hailing firms may respond again with threats to suspend service.

“Once again, the state has looked at the law and found it clear: Uber and Lyft drivers deserve basic protections and benefits,” said Gig Workers Rising, a union that represents many drivers.

The ruling comes 11 days before an election that could completely shift how AB5 is applied. Proposition 22, funded with more than $180m from companies including Uber, Lyft and Instacart, would carve out an exemption for gig workers from AB5. It would provide its own minimum wage and benefits, which some labor groups have criticized.

Also on Thursday, a group of gig workers in California sued Uber for up to $260m in penalties for pushing Prop 22 inside the Uber app. Before a driver can accept any pickup in the app, they must click through a pop-up that promotes Prop 22. In one case shared on social media, the drivers can respond to the prompt with either “Yes On Prop 22” or “OK” – there is no option to disagree with the measure.

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