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Everything You Need to Know About AB5

If you have questions about what California Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) could mean for drivers, you’re not alone. It’s not a simple question to answer – over at The New York Times, I address how AB5 could impact driver flexibility, for example, and why AB5 in its current form can’t satisfy all parties. In the article below, RSG contributor Chonce Maddox Rhea covers the recent YouTube Live I hosted explaining more about AB5 and why it came about.

The recent rideshare news is pretty huge but I’m sure many of us saw this coming. California Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) was passed by the Senate and is one its way to being signed by the Governor.

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At this time and point, the governor signing the bill just sounds like a technicality and that AB5 will be passed in the state of California very soon.

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Here’s What the Presidential Candidates Think About AB5

With the future of the gig economy hanging in the balance, RSG has published numerous articles on AB5 in the past few months. Today, RSG senior contributor Sergio Avedian breaks down the Presidential candidates views and where they stand regarding AB5, and workers’ rights overall. 

On August 30, 2019, California’s Senate Appropriations Committee passed the bill out of committee with a 5-2 vote, sending it to the California Senate floor for debate and a final vote before the legislature goes on recess in September. And recently, the governor came out with his unequivocal support so it looks like this thing is going to pass.

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Los Angeles City Council Looking To Regulate Uber and Lyft Drivers

City councils have a lot of power to say what can and cannot happen within city limits, and we are beginning to see what this type of local control could look like in Los Angeles, CA. RSG senior contributor Sergio Avedian outlines the latest proposal from the LA City Council to regulate rideshare drivers.

Safety of passengers as well as drivers comes up every time either a passenger or a driver gets killed. Unfortunately, Uber and Lyft have not been able to come up with a concrete solution to this problem. Granted, it is a very difficult task to achieve considering the sheer scale of rideshare industry these days. Close to 10 million rides take place on a daily basis on both platforms. Guaranteeing safety 10 million times is likely impossible – but local governments want to see if they can help.

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Do Rideshare Drivers Need To Get Business Licenses?

In this Throwback Tuesday Classic, RSG contributor Paula Gibbins answers a question many drivers are worried about: do we need business licenses to drive with Uber and Lyft? Many LA Uber drivers recently received a notice from Uber stating they need a business license to operate in the city, which came as a surprise to many drivers. This isn’t the first time this has happened to rideshare drivers. Here’s what all drivers should know about business licenses and rideshare driving.

Update: Since SB 182 passed in California, California drivers now only need one business license to work statewide. Drivers can obtain this business license in the city where they live.

The Case Of San Francisco

The actual language of the letter drivers in SF received was “if you drive on San Francisco streets seven days or more a year and work as an independent contractor rather than an employee of your TNC, you are required to obtain a Business Registration Certificate.” It gave me 30 days to either register for “both the current registration period and the 2016-2017 registration period.” 

Or I could to go to a different website and declare I do not need to register. Now, it gives you 15 days from starting business to submit your registration.

For those of you who are interested, here is the full letter that drivers received from the SF Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector, along with the response that Uber and Lyft gave to drivers:

What's up with business licenses and rideshare driving? Ryan tells us what rideshare drivers need to know about business licenses.

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Are Uber Drivers Employees? Cloud Looms Over Rideshare Industry

As drivers, we are expected to do a lot of things for our “job.” While we can choose the hours we work, pay can be inconsistent and some drivers are incentivized to drive at hours they may not prefer, all for the lure of extra pay. So what does this actually make drivers – true independent contractors, or something else? Senior RSG contributor John Ince tackles this question below.

If you’re interested in signing up to drive for Uber, Uber Eats, Lyft, Postmates, or Doordash, click here to sign up

Should Uber & Lyft Drivers Be Employees or Independent Contractors?

A cloud hangs over the entire ridesharing industry. It’s a legal cloud of ambiguity as to what exactly drivers are.  Are drivers independent contractors as Uber and Lyft would have the world believe? Or are drivers employees – as two important legal bodies have ruled within the last six months?  Further adding to the confusion, Recently, the 9th Circuit of San Francisco ruled that a major lawsuit on this issue could not proceed because driver’s signed away their rights when the signed up to drive for Uber and agreed to arbitration on these issues. So the issue remains in legal limbo and likely will for the foreseeable future.

It’s a legal issue that affects everything in this new space called the gig economy. Labor advocates argue that this gig labor development has set back labor rights fifty years.  Those on the other side argue that it’s brought flexibility and income opportunities to countless people that otherwise would be wanting.

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