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California Senate Passes Bill to Reclassify Ride-Hailing Drivers

Supporters of AB 5 have said that the legislation is necessary, as some companies have exploited workers for decades under unfair labor contracts.

September 11, 2019
California Senate Passes Bill to Reclassify Ride-Hailing Drivers

Opponents, including Uber and Lyft, said that if the bill is signed, they will take the issue directly to voters in the 2020 election with a ballot innitiative.

Photo via Depositphotos.

1 min to read


The California State Senate voted, 29-11, to approve legislation that would reclassify ride-hailing drivers as employees instead of independent contractors, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The controversial bill would affect hundreds of thousands of gig workers, including Uber and Lyft drivers, delivery drivers for Postmats and Grubhub, Amazon Flex drivers, taxi drivers, and others.

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AB 5 passed through the Assembly earlier, but now must go back there so members can agree on amendments. If passed, Gov Gavin Newsom will most likely sign it, as he has publicly supported the legislation.

Supporters of AB 5 have said that the legislation is necessary, as some companies have exploited workers for decades under unfair labor contracts. They have accused companies of labeling workers as independent contractors to avoid paying minimum wage, health care, ovetime, worker's comp, and other employee related costs. 

Opponents, including Uber and Lyft, said that if the bill is signed, they will take the issue directly to voters in the 2020 election with a ballot innitiative.

Originally posted on Auto Rental News

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