California app-based drivers to remain as contractors after state Supreme Court upholds Prop. 22

SACRAMENTO – The California Supreme Court unanimously upheld Proposition 22, allowing app-based drivers to remain as independent contractors rather than employees. 

Proposition 22 passed with 58% support in 2022, which gave app-based gig workers some benefits, such as guaranteed minimum wage and subsidies for health insurance, if they average 25 hours of work a week. 

DoorDash, Lyft, Uber and other app-based companies spent $200 million in support of it while labor unions spent about $20 million to oppose the measure, marking the most expensive ballot measure in state history.  

A lawsuit filed in 2021 claimed the proposition was unconstitutional because it limits the power of state legislature to grant workers the right to organize and excludes drivers from eligibility for workers' compensation.   

Opponents also accused gig companies of buying their own law as it was written by Uber and Lyft and supported by DoorDash, Postmates and Instacart.

In May, dozens of ride-share and delivery drivers gathered on the steps of the California Supreme Court ahead of oral arguments. 

UC Berkeley's Labor Center released a new study looking at the average income of gig-drivers in five major US cities, finding drivers on average are paid less than minimum wage after expenses.  

That study also said ride-share drivers made an average of $5.97 an hour before tops and meal delivery drivers made $4.98 an hour before tips.