A group that supports a ballot measure overwhelmingly approved by voters in November to keep certain gig-economy workers as contractors is praising the California Attorney General's office for opposing a lawsuit seeking to strike down the proposition.
The Protect App-Based Drivers & Services (PADS) coalition commended the attorney general's office "for their strong and vigorous defense of Proposition 22 against this meritless lawsuit," PADS spokesman Geoff Vetter told the Northern California Record. "The fact is that nearly 60% of California voters overwhelmingly approved Prop 22 – more than 10 million voters – and the measure was supported by hundreds of thousands of app-based drivers."
Despite that overwhelming support, special interests now are trying to "undermine the will of the voters and the wishes of app-based drivers," Vetter said. "We're pleased to see the Attorney General mounting a strong defense and plan to join in as intervenors to protect the will of the electorate."
PADS was formerly called the Yes on Prop 22 coalition. Prop 22 also has often been called the "Protect App-Based Drivers and Services Act."
In late March, the Attorney General’s Office filed a demurrer in Alameda County Superior Court asking the court to dismiss a lawsuit to overturn Prop 22. By filing a demurrer, the attorney general's office is telling the court that even if all of the points in the lawsuit are true, that defendants in the case cannot prevail.
Prop. 22 classifies some gig-economy app-based workers – particularly drivers and delivery for apps such as Uber and DoorDash – as independent contractors not subject to the previously passed Assembly Bill 5, which said they should be treated as employees. Prop 22-covered contractors are not required to receive benefits, such as unemployment insurance or paid sick leave, as employees are.
Plaintiffs in the case, which include ride-hail drivers and the Service Employees International Union, maintain that Prop 22 should be struck down as unconstitutional because it infringes on the state Legislature's powers to set workers' compensation.
The lawsuit is essentially the same as a previous case dismissed by the California Supreme Court without prejudice.
Last summer, supporters of Prop 22 sued then California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, claiming the label, title and summary that he wrote for the proposition was "infected with the contagion of bias and hostility."
Becerra stepped down from his Attorney General position in March to take up the position of U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services under the Biden administration. Gov. Gavin Newsom subsequently announced the appointment of Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) to replace Becerra, pending confirmation by state Legislature.