Prop 22 exempts delivery-app and ride-share corporations such as Uber and Lyft — pioneers of the virtual gig financial system — from classifying their drivers as staff, that means the corporations would not have to supply advantages such as medical insurance. (They are required to supply a stipend towards medical insurance protection for drivers who paintings a minimal choice of hours a week.)
The Service Employees International Union, which had filed swimsuit looking for for Prop 22 to be invalidated, mentioned it is thinking about interesting the ruling to the Supreme Court of California.
Uber, Lyft and different gig-economy apps poured $200 million into the marketing campaign to cross Prop 22. The measure handed with about 59 p.c of the vote, however some electorate mentioned they misunderstood the query on their ballots and intended to provide drivers extra advantages, no longer fewer.
The appellate court mentioned nearly all of Prop 22 was once constitutional, together with the stipulation that drivers be employed as contractors as an alternative of staff.
But it struck down a piece of the measure that had limited drivers’ talents to unionize by way of requiring a seven-eighths supermajority to amend the measure within the state legislature. The requirement, the court mentioned in its 63-page ruling, “effectively locks in place the status quo of drivers not being able to collectively bargain.”
That aligned the appellate court with Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch, who dominated in 2021 that the edge was once “difficult to the point of near impossibility.”
Mike Robinson, a gig employee and plaintiff within the swimsuit, mentioned in a remark issued by way of SEIU that he believed Prop 22 “in its entirety” was once unconstitutional, although he thanked the court for reaffirming drivers’ talent to unionize.
“Drivers have always led this movement, and we will follow their lead as we consider all options — including seeking review from the California Supreme Court — to ensure that gig drivers and delivery workers have access to the same rights and protections afforded to other workers in California,” Tia Orr, govt director of SEIU California, mentioned in a remark.
Uber’s leader prison officer, Tony West, mentioned in a remark that the ruling was once “a victory for app-based workers,” including that Prop 22 “affords them new benefits while preserving the unique flexibility of app-based work.”
Lyft mentioned in a remark that it was once “pleased that the court upheld the democratic will of the voters” and that it will proceed working its provider as standard. The two ride-hailing corporations had up to now recommended that they might withdraw operations in California if the legislation didn’t let them classify drivers as contractors.
Among the advantages afforded by way of Prop 22, Lyft mentioned, is a demand that gig staff earn a minimum of 120 p.c of the minimal salary for “booked time” — between after they settle for a experience or shipping and after they drop off a passenger or items.
However, “booked time” does no longer come with time spent looking forward to an be offering for a profitable experience or shipping. The University of California at Berkeley’s Labor Center found in a 2019 research that the wages assured by way of Prop 22 have been identical to $5.64 in keeping with hour. Various “loopholes,” together with no longer counting ready time as paintings time, give a contribution to the space, the middle discovered.
The proposition requires that the health-care stipend be supplied to drivers who’ve greater than 15 hours of “booked time” a week.
Shares in Uber, Lyft and DoorDash, a shipping app, rose in after-hours buying and selling.
