A year ago, a Massachusetts court rejected a proposed 2022 ballot measure that sought to define gig workers as independent contractors rather than employees. Now it seems that this proposal is getting a second wind.
State Attorney General Andrea Campbell on Wednesday agreed with the law’s supporters Ballot measurement To begin collecting tens of thousands of signatures for the measure to appear on the November 2024 ballot after the questions are certified to meet constitutional requirements.
Campbell also gave the green light to the competition Ballot initiative From the union SEIU Local 32BJ that would allow drivers to join a union and bargain collectively for improved working conditions and compensation.
The dueling proposals sum up the essence of the gig worker issue. App-based gig companies are backing a ballot initiative to keep gig workers, with independent contractors arguing that such a classification would enable workers to maintain the flexible work schedules they value. Labor rights activists who support the union’s proposal say companies have failed to provide workers with adequate protections and benefits such as workers’ compensation or even a basic human wage. One 2021 study found that workers in Massachusetts could earn $4.82 per hour if the previous ballot measure had passed.
A proposal introduced in August by Massachusetts Driver Flexibility and Benefits 2024 — a group backed by Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash — that would classify gig workers as contractors is similar to a ballot proposal passed in California in 2020 called Proposition 22. A minimum income of 120 % of the state minimum wage for app-based drivers, or $18 per hour in 2023 before tips. Drivers will also receive health care stipends, occupational accident insurance, and paid sick time, though experts and California drivers who spoke to TechCrunch say it is difficult, if not impossible, to qualify for these benefits.
How app-based companies set hourly rates is also a subject of contention — they only count hours in which a worker pursues a gig activity, such as driving to a pickup truck and dropping off a passenger, as billable hours. This means that the hours workers spend waiting for a gig are not paid.
Pickup and delivery work can also be dangerous. Drivers have complained of being robbed and assaulted, some killed on the job, and often receive no recourse or compensation from companies like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash.
“We are pleased that the Attorney General’s Office has certified our ballot proposals to ensure drivers are able to maintain the flexibility to work when, how often and for how long they want as independent contractors, while also obtaining new benefits and protections,” Conor Unites, a spokesperson for Flexibility and Benefits for Drivers in Massachusetts, said in a statement. statement.
The proposal mirrors a similar proposal that was rejected by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in 2022, after former Attorney General Maura Healey similarly approved a signature-gathering initiative. The court found that the ballot initiative violated state law and therefore was not eligible to be put to voters.
At the time, Judge Scott Kafker said the coalition included a vaguely worded and irrelevant proposal to limit companies’ liability for accidents involving their drivers.
The industry-backed initiative may face similar challenges when it reaches the ballot, but it also has the potential to save Uber and Lyft from a lawsuit. In May, Campbell’s office is scheduled to take the companies to court over allegations they misclassified their drivers as contractors.
In California, Proposition 22 brought this issue into sharp focus on the national stage three years ago. A California judge ruled in 2021 that the measure violated the state constitution, but the state appeals court upheld the measure in March.