San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott’s lawsuit against the groceries-delivery app Instacart has placed the office in the middle of other legal actions, including a ballot measure regarding employee classification that could be in front of voters in November, and new legislation.
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Elliott’s office filed the lawsuit last year, claiming that it designates delivery drivers as independent contractors. Instacart is used to purchase groceries through the app and have them delivered at home by the drivers whose employment status is questioned. This past Friday, February 14th, Superior Court of California Judge Timothy Taylor ruled against Instacart’s parent company Maplebear, Inc.
“The City makes a very plausible showing of improper classification under the ABC test, and defendant’s opposition does not establish defendant will probably prevail under the ABC test at trial” says the court filing in its tentative ruling. “The matter is not free from doubt, and there is some evidence to the contrary. But the court finds the evidence preponderates in favor of a finding that defendant cannot satisfy at least one prong of the ABC test. At this point is it more likely than not that the People will establish at trial that the “Shoppers” perform a core function of defendant’s business; that they are not free from defendant’s control; and that they are not engaged in an independently established trade, occupation or business. Establishing any one of these would be enough, and it must be remembered that although the People would have the burden of going forward with the evidence, the burden of establishing proper classification is on defendant.”
The ABC test refers to the rule that if a worker performs services during normal business operations of a company and is not free of the company’s orders to perform the job, he or she must be treated as a part- or full-time employee instead of an independent contractor. However, Judge Taylor had previously ruled against stopping Instacart’s operations while the case was taking place.
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Reference: Bloomberg
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