Uber And Postmates Sue California To Stop AB5 Gig-Worker Law

From Forbes: Uber and Postmates have filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block California’s AB5 gig-worker law, which is set to go into effect January 1. The complaint claims the impending law, which will require companies to treat many independent contractors (aka gig workers) as employees, is unconstitutional. The companies, along with two drivers who use their respective apps, are requesting a preliminary injunction against AB5 while the lawsuit is in progress.

In the complaint, the plaintiffs contend that AB5 violates a number of clauses in both the state and federal constitutions, including guarantees of equal protection and due process by denying people from making the choice to work for gig-focused companies. They say it unfairly targets certain gig workers, including ridesharing and delivery drivers, compared with people who carry out “substantively identical work” in many other industries.

"AB5 is a vague and incoherent statute that does not accomplish what its sponsors have stated they sought to achieve," the complaint states. The law, which was authored by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, is supposed to uphold a 2018 California Supreme Court ruling in the case of Dynamex Operations West Inc. vs. Superior Court of Los Angeles. That lays out how employees and independent contractors should be classified, and was intended to make sure gig economy workers can obtain benefits such as minimum wage, health insurance and sick day pay.

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