LOS ANGELES — Drivers for app-based ride-hailing and delivery services filed a lawsuit Tuesday to overturn a California ballot initiative that makes them independent contractors instead of employees eligible for benefits and job protections. The lawsuit filed with the California Supreme Court said Proposition 22 is unconstitutional because it limits...
Uber, Lyft Spend Big, Win in California Vote About Drivers
LOS ANGELES — Uber, Lyft and other app-based ride-hailing and delivery services spent $200 million in a winning bet to circumvent California lawmakers and the courts to preserve their business model by keeping drivers from becoming employees eligible for benefits and job protections. The titans of the so-called gig economy...
California Court Says Uber, Lyft Drivers Are Employees
SAN FRANCISCO — A California appeals court on Thursday upheld an order requiring Uber and Lyft to treat their California drivers as employees instead of independent contractors, less than two weeks before voters will be asked to exempt the ride-hailing giants from the state's gig economy law. The decision won't...
Uber and Lyft Get Court Reprieve, Will Continue Service in California
BERKELEY — An appeals court has allowed ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft to continue treating their drivers as independent contractors in California while an appeal works its way through the court. Both companies had threatened to shut down if a ruling went into effect Friday morning that would have forced...
Walters: An Official Crusade Against Proposition 22
Reasonable people can disagree whether the business model of Uber, Lyft and other transportation services is a model of flexible part-time work or cruelly exploits non-employee workers. Their drivers, often using their own vehicles, are paid by the ride, giving rise to the term “gig economy.” Uber, et al, contend...
California Sues Uber, Lyft Over Alleged Labor Law Violations
LOS ANGELES — California is suing ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft, alleging they misclassified their drivers as independent contractors under the state's new labor law. Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced the lawsuit Tuesday during a news conference. The labor law, known as AB5 and considered the nation's strictest test, took...
California Is Taking Aim at Uber and Lyft’s Outsized Climate Consequences
To understand California’s climate change challenge, look no further than its popular ride-hailing companies. Uber, Lyft and other companies make up a tiny piece of the biggest greenhouse gas polluter in the state: transportation. Yet their contribution to climate-warming emissions is outsized, drawing attention from researchers and lawmakers and raising...
Lawmaker Aims to Strip Cap on Freelancer Assignments in California
SACRAMENTO — Bowing to intense criticism, the author of a sweeping new California labor law now wants to amend the statute to eliminate any cap on the number of assignments freelance journalists can take. Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, said she will seek to remove a 35-submission limit on the...
Calif Law Will Force Small Businesses to Rethink Staffing
A California law that makes it harder for companies to treat workers as independent contractors takes effect next week, forcing small businesses in and outside the state to rethink their staffing. The law puts tough restrictions on who can be independent contractors or freelancers rather than employees. Supporters say it...
Lyft, Uber Will Ask California Voters to Block New Law
SACRAMENTO — Some of the country's largest ride-sharing companies announced a ballot initiative Tuesday that would let them continue to treat drivers as independent contractors while also guaranteeing them a minimum wage and money for health insurance. The Legislature enacted AB 5 this year requiring ride-sharing companies to treat drivers...