The state of California classified self-employed workers as full when it passed Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) In September 2019. The state determined that Uber and Lyft drivers are eligible under California law for the same protections as employees. Last August, the San Francisco Supreme Court have found Uber and Lyft have broken the law by continuing to classify their workers as contractors.
On passing Prop 22, California voters gave Uber and Lyft drivers, as well as their Instacart and DoorDash counterparts, access to healthcare benefits and insurance policy plans. At the same time, they permanently classified these workers as contractors and denied them the protections they would have had as full-time employees of those companies. Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and Instacart have spent over $ 200 million building support for Prop 22, and it worked. In early polls at checkout, 40 percent Of people who shared their yes to the measure said they did so because they believed they were helping gig workers get a living wage. Outside of the California Supreme Court annulling the measure, lawmakers are unlikely to be able to do anything about the measure because one of its key rulings states that a seven-eighths legislative majority is required to amend it.
