California passed Assembly Bill 5 last year in a bid to redistribute many gig economy workers as employees, and so far Lyft and Uber have not done so. The state prosecuted them, and on Monday afternoon Judge Ethan Schulman of the San Francisco Superior Court ruled in favor of awarding a preliminary injunction that would block companies from driving as independent contractors.
Reuters reports that in the 34-page decision Schulman said there was an “overwhelming chance” that the state would prove that the two companies had illegally wronged workers, and that they had failed the three-step test of the law to determine if workers are employees. He delayed for ten days the enforcement of the ruling to allow appeal, which both companies plan to pursue, while the San Francisco Chronicle Uber also reports that it will push for a longer stay. In a statement, Lyft said: “We will immediately appeal this statement and continue to fight for its independence. Ultimately, we believe this issue will be resolved by California voters and that they have a side with drivers. ”
