Gig corporations take employee classification struggle to Massachusetts by way of poll initiative – TechCrunch

A coalition of app-based ride-hailing and on-demand delivery companies like Lyft, Uber, Doordash and Instacart have petitioned a voting initiative in Massachusetts that would classify gig economy workers as independent contractors if the industry opposed it fights in California won on the street.

The voting move proposed by the Massachusetts Coalition for Independent Work comes nearly a year after California voters approved a similar move known as Proposition 22, which pitted labor lawyers against gig economy companies in a costly multi-million dollar battle.

Lyft, Uber and other members of the coalition, which also includes several local chambers of commerce in the state, said Tuesday that they plan to include the ballot question in the November 2022 election. The question must pass a legal review and receive enough signatures from voters to be included on the ballot.

“While our priority is to find a legal solution in Massachusetts, that part of our ongoing effort to advocate what the vast majority of drivers want – the flexible income our platform offers plus new benefits,” said Lyft co-founder John Zimmer during Lyft’s call for results on Tuesday. “As we pursue the electoral option, we are also working closely with and continuing to work with Massachusetts state law on a possible legislative solution.”

The coalition said the proposed voting question would give app-based ridesharing and delivery workers new benefits, like health grants, while remaining classified as independent contractors.

The regulations touted by the coalition include an income floor of 120% of the Massachusetts minimum wage ($ 18 an hour in 2023 from app-based platforms, ahead of customer tips) and health grants for drivers who work 15 hours or more per week. Drivers would still keep all of their tips and, according to the coalition, receive at least $ 0.26 per mile to cover vehicle maintenance and gasoline.

Worker activists are already pushing back. The Coalition to Protect Workers’ Rights, a group made up of a variety of organizations including the NAACP New England Area Conference, the Union of Minority Neighborhoods, and the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Coalition, said Tuesday the election measure contained problematic language, will harm workers.

The group argued that there are widespread loopholes leading to a sub-minimum for app-based workers and that few qualify for health care. It also noted that the measure would remove anti-discrimination protections, abolish workers’ compensation schemes, and allow companies to defraud the state unemployment system of hundreds of millions.

While Uber, Lyft, and the broader coalition are in favor of either electoral action or law, it is also facing a lawsuit from Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey asking the court to rule that Uber and Lyft drivers are employees are under Massachusetts wage and hour laws.

The AG’s office alleges in its complaint that Uber and Lyft are unable to pass a three-part test under state law that would allow them to classify drivers as independent contractors. In order to qualify as an independent contractor, the employee must be free from the direction and control of a company, provide services outside the normal course of business and carry out similar work independently.

Since last year, Uber has signaled its intention to push for legislation similar to the measure in Proposition 22. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said during a conference call with analysts in November 2020 that the company “will be louder for laws like Prop 22”. He later added that a priority for the company was “to work with governments in the US and the world to make this happen.”