California Supreme Court appears hesitant to overrule voters on Prop. 22 gig worker law

BASED ON THEIR line of questioning, California Supreme Court justices seemed to be reaching for a compromise as they heard oral arguments this week in the long-running legal saga over whether gig workers should be considered independent contractors or employees.

Proposition 22, the gig industry-backed initiative that 58 percent of state voters passed in 2020, has been mired in a legal back-and-forth since it became law — including being ruled unconstitutional by a Superior Court judge before being upheld by a state appeals court. Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart and other companies have used the law to treat their drivers and delivery workers in California as independent contractors, not as employees.