Prop. 22 was ruled unconstitutional. What will the final outcome be?

Proposition 22 faces a potentially long legal battle after a judge called the gig worker law unconstitutional. Even if the Supreme Court invalidates Proposition 22, that doesn’t convert drivers to employees right away, said Kurt Oneto, an attorney representing the gig company coalition. The ruling found the law unduly encroaches on the state Constitution by restricting the Legislature’s ability to regulate workers’ compensation rules — which it does not have the authority to do, since Proposition 22 was introduced through the ballot measure process as a statutory initiative, rather than as a constitutional amendment. In other words, said McCuan of Sonoma State, the ruling rests on “the process of direct democracy, and less on the substance of what Proposition 22 tries to do.” Colorado’s and Florida’s legislatures have been more stringent with enforcing the single subject rule than California, Miller said. “California’s Constitution does not permit an initiative like this to so completely take away the rights of the workforce.” Robert Stern, a former general counsel of the Fair Political Practices Commission who has studied California ballot initiatives extensively, said this challenge was a “long shot” and believes the Supreme Court is likely to overturn the decision.