Because gig companies don’t reimburse drivers for car expenses such as maintenance or fuel, nor are drivers paid for time spent driving to pick someone up or during wait times, drivers can potentially earn far less, with a 2020 UC Berkeley Labor Center study finding that drivers would likely earn an average wage of $5.34 an hour under Prop 22.
Murphy said she believes that Uber’s publicly stated commitments to racial justice are intended as a smokescreen to protect their reputation as a progressive company as they try to circumvent classifying drivers as employees and granting them labor protections such as paid sick leave, unemployment insurance, and reimbursement for business expenses by passing Prop 22.
Beyond alleging wage theft, drivers also demanded that Uber and Lyft pay unemployment insurance taxes. According to a report from the UC Berkeley Labor Center, Uber and Lyft have evaded paying $410 million in unemployment insurance taxes between 2014 and 2019 by classifying their drivers as independent contractors, who are exempt from traditional unemployment insurance benefits.
