The Macon Telegraph reported that a 2020 California ballot measure aimed at reclassifying drivers for ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft as employees instead of independent contractors was passed into law last week in the most expensive ballot measure in California history, which was hailed as a victory by anti-DUI groups.
Uber and Lyft, along with other industry groups or groups with interests in the issue, spent two hundred million dollars to bypass legislators and the courts and take their cause to the voters, and 58% of voters elected to allow the companies to maintain drivers as independent contractors. Proposition 22 led to the two companies having an 11-13% increase in share price.
Labor unions had argued that the state should mandate that ridesharing companies provide drivers with the same protections as regular employees, such as minimum wage, overtime, and health insurance. They argue that mislabeling drivers as contractors allows them to take advantage of their workforce while depriving workers of labor rights.
Uber and Lyft had threatened to cease operations in California if the measure failed, and anti-DUI groups had warned that the removal of ridesharing apps as an option for intoxicated people could result in increased drunken driving.
