REMARKS
Council Member Krishnan explains Intro 276 to protect drivers from unfair deactivation
0:17:49
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3 min
Council Member Krishnan outlines the key components of Intro 276, a bill designed to protect drivers from unfair deactivation by ride-hailing companies. The bill aims to establish due process, create an independent appeals process, and shift the burden of proof to the companies.
- Requires companies to use a progressive discipline structure before deactivation
- Mandates at least two weeks' notice before permanent deactivation
- Creates an independent appeals process through arbitration or DCWP
- Shifts the burden of proof to companies to justify deactivations
- Allows for back pay if drivers are reactivated
- Provides an opportunity for previously deactivated drivers to appeal within a year of the bill's passage
Shekar Krishnan
0:17:49
These expenses continue even when you lose your job, and that is why I am proud that intro 276 will be heard today.
0:17:57
My bill works in two ways.
0:18:00
First, it increases driver protections before deactivations happens, creating a due process standard, which everyone should be subject to and is a fundamental principle of American law and workers' rights.
0:18:14
If Uber and Lyft believe a driver is not meeting their community guidelines, this bill requires them to enter into a progressive discipline structure where consequences will match the severity of the infraction.
0:18:26
Additionally, drivers will be required to have at least 2 weeks notice of an impending permanent deactivation.
0:18:32
Notice in advance is an essential part of due process, and drivers don't have that today before they are deactivated unfairly.
0:18:41
2nd, my bill creates an independent appeals process for drivers to pursue after they've been deactivated.
0:18:48
Drivers will be able to appeal the deactivation through a number of means, including arbitration, or a complaint with DCWP.
0:18:55
This means the drivers will have an independent, neutral, arbiter, and appeals process through DCWP.
0:19:01
App Companies will be required to give drivers the information necessary for them to build their case and the companies will bear the burden of proving that their actions were justified.
0:19:10
Drivers would be allowed a representative to help them through this process.
0:19:15
If reactivated, drivers would also get back pay for the time that they were not allowed to work.
0:19:20
Finally, drivers who have been unfairly deactivated in the last 6 years would have an opportunity to appeal with the city within a year of my bill's passage.
0:19:29
The third point, as I mentioned, is that this process shifts the burden from the driver having to prove why they were deactivated after the fact to now requiring for higher vehicle companies to justify why the deactivation was necessary.
0:19:46
In other words, when a decision is made by an company, it shouldn't place the burden on drivers after the fact to reverse that decision.
0:19:54
The decision maker must provide the justifications for doing so, and that is where the decision should be placed.
0:20:00
Again, a basic principle of due process in American law and for workers' rights protections.
0:20:07
This bill would provide robust protections for Uber and Lyft drivers and open up an additional, not a replacement, an additional pathway for drivers to fight back against wrongful deactivations.
0:20:17
And to be clear, nothing in this bill stops a driver from using other appeals processes if they so desire.
0:20:24
When an app company unjustly deactivates a driver, it is up to city government to step in and provide basic worker protections and established necessary processes.
0:20:35
This bill by providing process, notice in advance, making the burden with the companies, and a neutral arbiter is a fundamental part of worker protections and workers' rights, and I could not think of a more pro worker bill than this.
0:20:48
Thank you.