California voters have passed Proposition 22, which would again classify app-based transportation and delivery drivers as independent contractors, reported CNBC.
Uber and Lyft spent over $200 million on the ballot measure to keep their drivers classified as independent contractors, but their most effective bit of lobbying may actually have been just a few lines of code.
Prop 22, or the App-Based Drivers as Contractors and Labor Policies Initiative, side-steps a new law, Assembly Bill 5, which went into effect on January 1 and codifies an “ABC” test to determine if workers are employees who are entitled to labor protections and benefits, therefore making it more difficult for the gig economy companies to continue treating their drivers as independent contractors who are not entitled to basic rights and protections.
“California has spoken and millions of voters joined their voices with the hundreds of thousands of drivers who want independence plus benefits,” the Yes on 22 campaign said in a statement shortly before midnight local time. “Prop 22 will protect drivers’ preference to be independent contractors with the flexibility to work when, where, and how long they want.”
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