THIRD TIME IS A CHARM FOR GIG COMPANIES!

The highest state court in California recently tossed out a constitutional challenge to Proposition 22. Proposition 22 was a voter-approved law permitting ride-share gig companies to classify their drivers as independent contractors.

The lawsuit was filed in January by a group of app-based drivers and one of the nation’s largest labor unions, the Service Employees International Union. The lawsuit claimed that Proposition 22 limited the power of elected officials to govern, in violation of California’s Constitution, by removing the officials’ abilities to grant gig workers the right to organize and provide access to the state’s worker’s compensation program.

The high court’s decision not to hear the case will further solidify the position of gig companies such as Uber, Lyft, Doordash and Instacart. While the plaintiffs have the legal right to refile their case in a lower state court, the voters and the highest state court have already weighed in on the issue. Regardless of where one comes in on this issue, gig companies’ classification of their workers as independent contractors is likely here to stay.