The ruling by the California Supreme Court is a major victory for the ride-hailing industry, which has said that many companies would end or limit service in the state if they were forced to treat thousands of drivers as their employees.
The Lyft logo is seen on a parked Lyft Scooter in Washington, U.S., March 29, 2019. [Photo: Reuters/Brendan McDermid/File Photo]
California’s top state court on Thursday upheld a measure approved by voters allowing app-based services such as Uber and Lyft to consider drivers in the most populous U.S. state as independent contractors rather than as employees entitled to greater benefits.
The ruling by the California Supreme Court is a major victory for the ride-hailing industry, which has said that many companies would end or limit service in the state if they were forced to treat thousands of drivers as their employees.
The court dismissed a lawsuit by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and four drivers who say the 2020 ballot measure known as Proposition 22, which preserves drivers’ contractor status while granting them some benefits, was unconstitutional.
Uber in a statement said that the ruling upheld “the will of the nearly 10 million Californians who voted to deliver historic benefits and protections to drivers, while protecting their independence.”
