A federal judge denied Uber’s request to stop the enforcement of a new Seattle law that establishes labor standards for the driver deactivation process. The App-Based Worker Deactivation Rights Ordinance is set to take effect on January 1st, despite Uber’s arguments that it violated its First Amendment rights and was unconstitutionally vague. Instacart also joined the lawsuit last week, but Judge Marsha Pechman dismissed these arguments in her ruling. She found that the ordinance regulates business conduct, not speech, and that the law’s language was clear enough for compliance. The ruling stated that the ordinance aims to protect app workers from unwarranted deactivations without imposing unconstitutional burdens on companies like Uber.
Uber expressed disappointment with the ruling, citing serious constitutional concerns with the ordinance. The company stated that they are carefully evaluating their legal options and next steps, while remaining committed to working with stakeholders towards a resolution that benefits couriers, consumers, and merchants. Instacart also criticized the ordinance, calling it “dangerous and unconstitutional” and stating that it puts the company and its customers at risk. Despite these objections, the law was originally passed by the Seattle City Council in August 2023 with the goal of providing more job security to app-based couriers, delivery drivers, and other service providers.
The ordinance requires companies to give workers a 14-day notice of deactivation, base deactivations on “reasonable” policies, ensure human review of all deactivations, and provide workers with records behind the decisions. It was supported by gig worker advocacy groups who believe it will protect workers from unfair deactivations. These groups argue that companies had too much power to deactivate workers, leading to unfair punishment for things like rejecting orders or being unavailable at specific times. The law, which is the first of its kind, goes further than efforts by other municipalities to regulate deactivations and applies to gig workers who deliver food, shop for groceries, and complete other tasks via on-demand apps.
The legislation does not apply to drivers who transport passengers, as they are covered under Washington state law. Instacart, Uber, and DoorDash have previously been engaged in a battle with Seattle lawmakers over a new minimum wage law for food delivery drivers earlier this year. Despite the ongoing legal battles and objections from companies like Uber and Instacart, the Seattle law regulating the driver deactivation process will be implemented in January. The law aims to provide more job security and protection for app-based workers in the gig economy, addressing concerns over unfair deactivations by companies in the industry.
