WASHINGTON - On October 6, 2020, Open Markets Institute joined Public Rights Project and 14 other civil rights, gender justice, and worker rights organizations in filing an amicus brief in support of the case brought by California Attorney General, City of San Francisco, City of Los Angeles, and City of San Diego against Uber and Lyft for misclassifying drivers.

The brief focuses on how Uber and Lyft’s use of misclassification subjects drivers to not just serious financial hardship, but also harassment, assault, and even safety violations.

“Uber and Lyft are engaging in practices that are at the forefront of harmful workplace upheaval;1 these companies’ actions are leading the charge to normalize worker exploitation in the “gig” economy. Over much of the past decade, Uber and Lyft have persuaded many state and local regulators to push aside the rights and interests of workers. They have needed to do so, because the business “innovation” at the heart of their operations is an unlawful one—the misclassification of their workforce as independent contractors.

By using terms such as “driver partners” and referring to themselves as “technology companies” when they are undoubtedly transportation companies, Uber and Lyft have mesmerized many into believing that this new-fangled arrangement—described as enabling a “side hustle”—was a win-win-win for workers, consumers, and the economy. Promises made by these companies, however, have not been promises kept. At every turn, the workers bear the brunt of the additional burdens passed on by the companies. Workers have lost income, benefits, and workplace protections to the financial advantage of the companies, which has allowed for significant market penetration throughout California, around the country, and globally.

Uber and Lyft were already required by law to treat their workers as employees before A.B. 5 went into effect. California statutory law now makes even more explicit the illegality of their enterprises, and amici write with strong opposition to Uber and Lyft’s appeal of the trial court’s preliminary injunction. Uber and Lyft should be enjoined from misclassifying their workforce because they are depriving drivers of obtaining a minimum wage, overtime compensation, paid leave and other benefits and protections, and they are depriving the State of California of tax revenue.

The misclassification perpetrated by these two enterprises has been utilized not only to steal wages and deny crucial benefits, but to pass social and other economic burdens onto the drivers, many of which exact a significant cost beyond lost compensation in a paycheck. Making matters worse, and demonstrating the noxious nature of the companies’ predation, both Uber and Lyft have marketed products or other offerings to their drivers, including vehicle leasing or rental arrangements, that are necessitated by the very economic insecurity that their misclassification exacerbates.

The proposed brief provides information regarding how Defendants’ continued misclassification of its drivers results not only in lower wages but also in fewer avenues for redress for sexual harassment of drivers, fewer protections for drivers’ health and safety generally and particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, while subjecting drivers to predatory financial terms. These harms affect most of Uber and Lyft’s workforces, and are especially damaging to drivers of color given the systemic and interpersonal racism they confront daily.”

Read the full brief below or download here.