App-Based Worker Minimum Payment Ordinance
On May 31, 2022, City Council passed the App-Based Worker Minimum Payment Ordinance, SMC 8.37.
This law is effective on January 13, 2024.
The ordinance applies to certain app-based workers (sometimes referred to as gig workers) and provides for several rights and protections for covered workers. Key rights include:
- Minimum Payment: Right to minimum pay based on the time worked and miles travelled for each offer.
- Transparency: Right to upfront disclosures of offer-information and right to receipt and payment records.
- Flexibility: Right to access the network platform without limitations (except for health and safety limitations), right to not be penalized for limiting availability or refusing offers, and the right to cancel an offer with cause.
The Office of Labor Standards (OLS) invites public comment on proposed rules for the App-Based Worker Minimum Payment Ordinance, SMC 8.37.
- The proposed rules chapter for the App-Based Worker Minimum Payment Ordinance clarifies the details of several requirements created by the ordinance. The proposed rules can be viewed by clicking here.
- OLS also invites public comment on a proposed rule that would amend Chapter 140 Practice and Procedures for Labor Standards Enforcement. The App-Based Worker Minimum Payment Ordinance gives the agency the authority to respond to alleged violations of the law through a complaint procedure in which an app-based worker’s complaint is provided to a network company for response. See SMC 8.37.165. The proposed rule would incorporate the complaint procedure in the ordinance into the agency’s procedural rules for enforcement and establish response deadlines.
The proposed amendment to Chapter 140 can be viewed by clicking here.
The current full text of Chapter 140 can be viewed by clicking here.
Members of the public are invited to comment on the proposed rules in writing. Written comments must be received no later than 5 PM PST on September 27, 2023. Comments may be mailed, or delivered to: Seattle Office of Labor Standards, ATTN: Shuxuan Zhou, Policy Analyst, 810 Third Ave, Suite 375, Seattle, WA, 98104 or emailed to laborstandards@seattle.gov with the subject line: “Comments: App-Based Worker Minimum Payment Ordinance Proposed Rules.”