Uber and Postmates are fighting hard against new California employment law AB-5

On Monday, December 30th, 2019, the major gig working apps Uber and Postmates proceeded to sue the State of California with the intent of a preliminary injunction that would deter the implementation of a new contract employment law.

The law poses a threat to businesses that rely on gig workers, and the companies are calling it "unconstitutional".

In a savvy legal move that was inevitable, Uber Technologies and Postmates filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles, saying that new state law known as AB-5 "is an irrational and unconstitutional statute designed to target and stifle workers and companies in the on-demand economy." Further, the suit states that the law infringes on independent contractors' "fundamental liberty to pursue their chosen work as independent service providers and technology companies in the on-demand economy."

If the companies win the temporary injunction they're seeking, they will be buying months if not years in this fight over what constitutes an employee — and it will give time for a ballot-measure campaign by Uber, Lyft and Doordash to gain traction before November, in which voters can decide whether they want to strike down the law.

Read more here.

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