Rogers v. Lyft CA1/1

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Lyft operates an app-based ridesharing platform that matches people seeking local rides with people willing to provide those rides. Plaintiffs are rideshare drivers who have used the Lyft platform in California. To use the Lyft platform, drivers must download the Lyft App and consent to the Terms of Service Agreement (TOS). In section 17 of the TOS, drivers agree to submit all disputes with Lyft to binding arbitration and waive the right to seek relief on a class, collective, or representative basis. Drivers may choose to opt out of arbitration. None of the named plaintiffs in this action opted out. In Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court (2018) 4 Cal.5th 903, 959-961, the Supreme Court established a three-part test, commonly known as the ABC test, to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. Effective January 1, 2020, Assembly Bill No. 5 (2019-2020 Reg. Sess.) (Stats 2019, ch 296 § 2) codified the holding in Dynamex, in part by clarifying that a company’s workers must be classified as employees if the work they perform is not outside the usual course of the company’s business. (See former Lab. Code, §…