New benefits are coming to Uber and Lyft drivers, thanks to litigation brought by the state attorney general’s office.
The settlement with the ride-hailing companies, announced late last month, guarantees a $32.50 hourly wage for workers, health insurance subsidies, paid sick and family leave, workers’ comp insurance and transparency on pay rates.
“They have access to these critical benefits that we all take for granted,” Attorney General Andrea Campbell told Boston Public Radio on Wednesday.
Uber and Lyft must also pay the state $175 million, most of which will go directly to drivers who have been denied those benefits in the past, Campbell said. It settles a lawsuit that’s been pending for four years as the state and companies warred over whether the drivers could be treated as independent contractors.
There is also a separate ongoing ballot initiative that would let ride-share drivers unionize if approved this November. The ballot question is unrelated to this lawsuit, but Campbell said she supports their efforts.
“If they, of course, earn the rights to bargain and to to form a union — which I think that is something they should be entitled to; so people, you know, get out and vote on the ballot questions — that is an opportunity for them to go back to the table with the companies and of course, ask for more, which I think, employees should always do,” she said.
Supporting ride-share drivers goes beyond individual worker protections, Campbell said.
“It not only affects thousands of residents in Massachusetts, but most importantly, this infrastructure is a critical part of our transit system and our transportation system, especially as you see the T have its issues here and there,” she said.
