By Sam Ozer-Staton 

Last year, three giants of the rideshare industry — Uber, Lyft, and Doordash — spent more than $200 million to pass a California ballot measure that allowed “gig economy” companies to continue treating their employees as independent contractors. 

The rideshare industry hoped that the law would be a model for the nation. But on Friday, a California Superior Court judge ruled that it was unconstitutional and unenforceable. The court’s decision, which Uber has vowed to appeal, sets the stage for another round of high-stakes legal fights. It also revives a long-running political debate with broad implications for the future of work: Should gig economy workers be classified as employees who qualify for full benefits or as independent contractors who do not? 

That debate has played out most dramatically in California, where the rideshare industry has gone back and forth with powerful labor groups in a series of pitched battles. Prop 22, which passed in 2020 with 58% of the vote and was hailed as a decisive victory for gig economy companies, came after both California’s Supreme Court and state legislature moved to tighten regulations.