The rights of rideshare drivers are complicated and heavily contested. There is a widespread dispute about whether drivers are contractors or employees, and, by extension, what benefits they are entitled to, according to a recent report from the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC).
State Comptroller Sean Scanlon is hoping to put some of these debates to rest.
“Like other workers in Connecticut… it is only right that these drivers have access to things like paid sick leave, affordable healthcare, and workers compensation,” Scanlon said in a release. “It is important that we, as a state, work with rideshare companies to find consensus on how we can best support their industry and their workforce.”
In the OSC’s report, which was published this month, Scanlon recommended several driver benefit policies. This includes giving drivers: paid sick leave; occupational accident insurance; health care stipends if they work a certain amount of time each quarter; a minimum hourly wage or another pay standard; and allowing them to see destination information and estimated earnings before accepting a ride. On top of that, rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft would be required to notify drivers of ways they can participate in CT Paid Leave.
When the OSC officials were compiling their report, they analyzed data about self-employed drivers from 2019 to 2022. They estimated that if drivers had been considered employees and not contractors during that period in time, employers would have been on the hook for $30 million in benefits. These benefits would have included unemployment insurance taxes, CT Paid Family and Medical Leave, workers’ compensation insurance, and secondary injury and Workers’ Compensation Commission assessments.
The number of drivers in Connecticut has skyrocketed in the last decade. In 2013—one year before Uber and Lyft began operating in the state—there were only 1,400 self-employed drivers in the state, according to the OSC report. In 2022, there were more than 13,600 self-employed drivers, the vast majority of whom worked for ridesharing companies.
This is likely an underestimate, because the data only tracks people who have made more than $1,000 a year through driving.
The average amount of money that self-employed drivers made dropped from $39,000 a year in 2013 to $26,000 in 2022. According to the OSC report, “this makes sense given that many rideshare drivers operate on a part-time basis.”
“Rideshare companies have a significant role in Connecticut’s transportation landscape, but they also play a significant role in the lives and budgets of the thousands of drivers working for them each day,” Scanlon said in the release.
The recommendations that Scanlon proposed are modeled after a settlement agreement made in Massachusetts with Uber and Lyft, according to the press release.
Scanlon proposes that transportation network companies share more data with state agencies, including the number of drivers active on a platform at a point in time, as well as drivers’ average and median earnings per month. The report claims this will help regulators and policy makers arrive at informed decisions about the industry.
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