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The Washington State Senate on Friday passed a bill that provides certain benefits and protections to gig drivers while barring them from being classified as employees, a longstanding priority like Uber and Lyft.
The two bills will still need to be reconciled before they can be sent to the governor for approval, although the vote appears to pave the way for final passage after a similar measure passed the state House of Representatives last week. Governor Jay Inslee did not say whether he wanted to sign the law.
Mr Inslee’s spokesman, Mike Faulk, said Friday that the governor’s office “doesn’t usually speculate about billing action” and that “we will consider it after legislators send it to our office.”
The Senate legislation, the result of a compromise between the corporations and at least one prominent local association, the Teamsters, was passed 8 to 40.
The action follows the collapse of similar efforts in California and New York amid resistance from other unions and labor advocates who argue that gig drivers shouldn’t have to settle for second-class status.
Under the deal, drivers will receive benefits such as paid sick leave and a minimum wage rate when transporting customers. The bill will also create a process for drivers to appeal against the so-called disablements that prevent companies from finding jobs through their apps.
But the minimum wage doesn’t cover the time they spend working without a passenger in the car—a significant portion of most drivers’ days. And like independent contractors, they could not unionize under federal law.
One particularly controversial feature of the bill is that it prevents local jurisdictions from regulating driver’s rights. A similar trait helped ignite the opposition. killed Expectations for such a bill in New York State last year.
Against the background of the Washington State legislative action was the possibility of a ballot measure that could enact similar changes with weaker benefits for drivers. After California passed a law in 2019 that effectively classifies gig workers as employees, Uber, Lyft, and other gig companies spent nearly $200 million on a job. ballot measure that undoes these protections. Legislation still being sued after a state judge he accepted unconstitutional.
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