A federal judge has dismissed a high-profile challenge to an ordinance allowing people who drive for companies like Uber and Lyft to engage in collective negotiations with those companies.
The suit was brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to invalidate City of Seattle Ordinance 124968, which took effect in January 2016. The court decision characterized the ordinance as providing “a mechanism through which for-hire drivers in Seattle can collectively bargain with the companies that hire, contract with, and/or partner with them. The ordinance applies only to for-hire drivers who are independent contractors, not employees.”
“The Court finds that the City’s role in enacting and enforcing the Ordinance, including authorizing private parties in the for-hire transportation industry to collectively bargain, is immune from suit under the federal antitrust laws,” U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik said in part in the decision issued Tuesday.