California sides with Uber and Lyft classifying drivers as gig workers

Court upholds Prop 22, allowing rideshare apps to keep treating drivers as independent contractors, not employees

California’s top state court on Thursday upheld a measure approved by voters allowing app-based services such as Uber and Lyft to consider drivers in the most populous US state as independent contractors rather than as employees entitled to greater benefits.

The ruling by the California supreme court is a major victory for ride-hailing companies, who have said that they would end or limit service in the state if they were forced to treat thousands of drivers as their employees.