WALTHAM, Mass. (Legal Newsline) - When Prossie Namanda was pregnant, she was an Instacart shopper and driver.
“I worked until the last minute and I did not get COVID,” Namanda said. “Working long hours, I realize is not something that is good for my health. So, I have a target of $200 on a bad day and $250 on a good day. When I earn that money, I stop no matter how many hours I’ve worked.
After giving birth, the Waltham, Mass.-based single mother is still working as an Instacart shopper and delivery driver but she is worried about the lawsuit that the state of Massachusetts filed against Uber, which could impact all gig economy drivers statewide.
“Most people doing Instacart or Uber have families but they cannot afford the cost of babysitting and daycare,” Namanda told Legal Newsline. “So, driving gives them flexibility. They are able to keep their families happy and bring some money on the table.”
But Attorney General Maura Healey sued Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. in Suffolk Superior Court last year seeking a declaratory judgment that Uber and Lyft drivers are employees under Massachusetts Wage and Hour Laws.
Healey seeks a determination from the court that Uber and Lyft drivers are employees, not independent contractors.
“If that happens, we are going to resort to seeking government benefits and staying home,” Namanda said.
That’s because being an employee won’t work for Namanda’s schedule.
“I leave my one-year-old baby with a grandma who is 85 years,” she said. “I drive back and forth while I’m working to personally change her diaper and feed her because the grandma who watches her does not do a lot. She’s the cheapest in a community. The rest charge $50 per hour, which I cannot afford. This grandma only charges me $15 per day for 12 hours and I have to check on my baby all the time.”
Namanda is among the 83% of Massachusetts drivers who prefer to remain independent contractors with 87% naming flexibility in the number of hours worked as the top reason for working with rideshare or delivery platforms, according to a Beacon Research poll.
WWLP reported that some 200,000 people in Massachusetts work as drivers for rideshare platforms and a Massachusetts worker who provides a service for another party is considered an employee unless they meet a three-part test under state law that would allow them to be classified as independent contractors.
To change the law, the Flexibility and Benefits for Massachusetts Drivers Committee has launched a ballot initiative called the Massachusetts App-Based Drivers as Contractors and Labor Policies Initiative, which voters will decide in November 2022.
“The next step is that the Secretary of State will introduce the ballot question as legislation to the legislature for consideration the first week of January,” said Conor Yunits, spokesperson for the Massachusetts Coalition for Independent Work. “If the legislature were to change the law or the ballot question were to pass, it would have an impact on the lawsuit.”
A similar process happened in California with voters approving Proposition (Prop) 22 however, the ballot initiative that allowed drivers statewide to be classified as independent contractors was overturned by an Alameda Superior Court judge. While the case is on appeal, Prop 22 is in effect.
“Our initiative is different in a number of ways,” Yunits told Legal Newsline. “The Massachusetts question would ensure drivers earn paid sick time just the same as employees in Massachusetts and also that they can be automatically enrolled in the state's paid Family and Medical Leave Act. Those are two huge benefits for drivers that were not part of Prop 22 in California. So, if anything, the Massachusetts initiative goes further than Prop 22 in favor of drivers.”
The AG’s complaint also seeks an order declaring that these drivers are entitled to protections under Wage and Hour laws but Namanda is depending on Instacart to eventually provide her with benefits.
“We're going to get benefits,” she said. “Instacart is working on benefits. This is something starting next year that we are getting.”
Instacart did not immediately respond to requests for comment.