It’s a non-conference Wednesday, but the Supreme Court today nonetheless denied the original writ petition seeking to invalidate Proposition 22, an initiative — passed last November and heavily financed by Uber and Lyft — that classifies app-based drivers as independent contractors instead of employees. The petition said the ballot measure violates the California Constitution in several respects.
The denial in Castellanos v. State of California is not the end of the challenge, however.
The petitioners went directly to the Supreme Court with their writ petition and the court says today’s ruling is “without prejudice to refiling in an appropriate court.” Moreover, two justices — Goodwin Liu and Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar — think the Supreme Court is the appropriate court. They recorded votes to issue an order to show cause and have the court hear the case on the merits now.
Related:
Dean Chemerinsky urges Supreme Court to hear Prop. 22 writ petition
Supreme Court asked to toss Prop. 22, the Uber/Lyft-sponsored initiative
[August 21 update: “Prop. 22 is ruled unconstitutional, a blow to California gig economy law,” in the Los Angeles Times.]
