Overview

• AB 1340 gives more than 800,000 California rideshare drivers the option to unionize and bargain while remaining independent contractors, with the Public Employment Relations Board overseeing elections, bargaining and unfair labor practice claims.
• Organizing requires signatures from 10% of active drivers to obtain contact lists and 30% to seek certification, with eligibility based on a median rides formula and regular active-driver data submissions to the state.
• The law applies to app-based passenger drivers for Uber and Lyft and does not cover delivery-app workers such as DoorDash drivers.
• A companion measure, SB 371, cuts uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage from $1 million to $60,000 per person and $300,000 per accident, which companies say could lower fares and critics warn could shift costs to crash victims and hospitals.
• Uber describes the package as a compromise that lowers costs and strengthens driver voices, while driver advocates including Rideshare Drivers United question data transparency, first-contract leverage and strike protections as separate wage-theft settlement talks with the state and major cities continue.