The Seattle City Council voted unanimously on May 31 to pass the Pay Up Legislation, CB 120294, establishing minimum pay requirements and mileage reimbursement for app-based workers.
In the Public Safety and Human Services Committee, Council made amendments to the base legislation removing any marketplace workers from the legislation (this removes workers on apps where they set their own rates and preschedule tasks). We appreciate the work that Councilmembers underwent to improve the base legislation and recognize the diversity in business models between apps where workers set their own rates and those who do not.
Over the past several weeks that this legislation has been before Council, the Seattle Metro Chamber shared our support for ensuring app-based workers earn a competitive wage and creating ways for them to access benefits. Importantly, we also support the flexibility that comes with working for this type of company.
The Chamber continues to urge the Council to evaluate the impacts of Pay Up, as we see how the choices before the apps covered by CB 120294, the businesses that work with them, their workers, and their customers play out.
You can find news coverage on this legislation The Seattle Times here and the press release from Council here.