By finding that the measure intrudes on the Legislature's workplace-standard-setting power, the court turns a classification fight into a test of how far a ballot initiative can constrain California labor policy.
First-order effects
Prop 22's exemption for rideshare and food-delivery drivers is invalidated by the lower-court ruling, putting the measure's contractor-based framework under immediate legal pressure.
The Legislature regains the position that its authority to set workplace standards cannot be curtailed in the way the court identified.
Second-order effects
Uber and Lyft again face a legal environment shaped by the earlier challenge to their independent-contractor classifications, rather than relying on Prop 22 as the controlling exception.
Gig-worker advocates and unions gain a court ruling that supports their argument that classification rules should remain subject to legislative action.
Third-order effects
The dispute points to California labor policy being set through continuing conflict between ballot initiatives, courts, and the Legislature, rather than being settled by a single vote.
If courts continue to police initiatives that restrict legislative authority, companies using contractor models will face less durable state-level carve-outs from workplace standards.
The trend: California's gig-work debate is becoming a broader contest over whether voter-approved exemptions can limit the Legislature's authority over labor standards.
Spending $200m to buy a law and having it struck down as unconstitutional bc you tried to make it impossible for the legislature to ever amend it couldn't have happened to a nicer industry
Hoo boy, your Uber ride pricing about to double, Lorena Gonzalez will be 5x more obnoxious, and labor unions will flex even more. Of note — the lawyers who represented Big Labor to defeat the will of the people? Olsen Remcho, which also represents — wait for it — @GavinNewsom! ht…
this is not over but Uber and Lyft have always been trojan horses to destroy what little labor protections workers have in this country. After years of being unprofitable by design it is so heartening that they might fail at their ultimate purpose all along https://twitter.com/..…
Major victory tonight for California workers. Big corporations don't get to spend $225 million to take away workers' rights. Thank you @SEIU, @seiucalifornia, and Gig Drivers! https://twitter.com/...
Holy shit! After the gig companies spent $200 million to mislead enough voters to pass Prop 22 and roll back workers' rights, it's been found unconstitutional. I'm not sure where things go next, but this is huge. 🎉 https://twitter.com/...
Hoping this ruling lasts through the inevitable appeals and that we can turn over Prop 22. But this is definitely good Friday news. https://www.sacbee.com/...
Prop 22 ruled unconstitutional! I mean, because it is unconstitutional. Yea!! ✊🏽👏🏽 🍾❤️ Court: CA's Prop. 22 on Uber, Lyft drivers unconstitutional | The Sacramento Bee https://www.sacbee.com/...
Prop 22, that gross multi multimillion dollar lie to give Uber and Lyft and all app companies license to degrade, humiliate, underpay, and dehumanize workers, to deny basic needs, and also it turns out tonight illegal.
Uber and Prop 22 faction saying they're going to appeal, but law profs who backed petition say it's a steep road. “They were trying to do too much in one proposition,” said @veenadubal Cal. Supreme Court likely to have final word, says law prof Bill Gould https://www.washingtonpo…
Excellent. The gig economy has done nothing but erode labour rights we've won in hard-fought battles over the last century. There's a similar case working its way through Canadian courts. https://twitter.com/...
I'm not sure this is a major victory for gig workers if overwhelming majority voted yes on prop 22. It's a victory for the minority..which is fine to fight for. but tired of seeing people frame this as what all gig workers want when it's clear that isn't the case. https://twitter…
A California judge ruled Prop. 22, which allowed Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and other app-based businesses to classify their workers as independent contractors, unconstitutional. https://www.latimes.com/...
“Tech” is not neutral nor apolitical AND it's business models are too often built to exploit Also, can we finally admit that @uber & @lyft are NOT tech companies just because the business is app-enabled #ProfitWithoutOppression https://twitter.com/...
The California Supreme Court has ruled Prop 22 unconstitutional in a victory for gig-workers! Read about our campaign plan for gig economy sectors like Uber and Lyft at https://howiehawkins.us/... https://twitter.com/...
I'm honestly flabbergasted by this ruling. Nearly 10 million Californians voted in favor of Prop 22, which prevailed by a 17-point margin. And yet a single county judge took it upon itself to deny the will of the people & declare it “unconstitutional.” https://www.washingtonpost.…
A reasonable person might ask, “why are we relitigating this, and not the prop that made it de facto legal to steal anything worth less than a G”, but alas these are unreasonable times https://twitter.com/...