Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H4257 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 8
2	2	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4257
3	3	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
4	4	——————
5	5	INITIATIVE PETITION OF CHARLES DEWEY ELLISON, III AND
6	6	OTHERS.
7	7	OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY.
8	8	BOSTON, JANUARY 16, 2024.
9	9	Steven T. James
10	10	Clerk of the House of Representatives
11	11	State House
12	12	Boston, Massachusetts 02133
13	13	Sir: — I herewith transmit to you, in accordance with the requirements
14	14	of Article XLVIII of the Amendments to the Constitution an “Initiative Petition
15	15	for a Law Establishing that App-Based Drivers are not Employees, and Network
16	16	Companies are not Employers, for Certain Purposes of the General Laws,”
17	17	signed by ten qualified voters and filed with this department on or before
18	18	December 6, 2023, together with additional signatures of qualified voters in the
19	19	number of 92,228, being a sufficient number to comply with the Provisions of
20	20	said Article.
21	21
22	22	Sincerely,
23	23	WILLIAM FRANCIS GALVIN
24	24	Secretary of the Commonwealth.
25	25	AN INITIATIVE PETITION.
26	26	Pursuant to Article XLVIII of the Amendments to the Constitution of the
27	27	Commonwealth, as amended, the undersigned qualified voters of the
28	28	Commonwealth, ten in number at least, hereby petition for the enactment into
29	29	law of the following measure: 2 of 8
30	30	FILED ON: 1/23/2024
31	31	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4257
32	32	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
33	33	_______________
34	34	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
35	35	(2023-2024)
36	36	_______________
37	37	An Act establishing that app-based drivers are not employees, and network companies are not
38	38	employers, for certain purposes of the General Laws.
39	39	Be it enacted by the People, and by their authority, as follows:
40	40	1 SECTION 1. The General Laws are hereby amended by inserting after chapter l 59Al/2
41	41	2the following chapter:
42	42	3 Chapter 159AA
43	43	4 Section 1. Title. This chapter shall be known as the "App-Based Drivers Classification
44	44	5Act."
45	45	6 Section 2. Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to clarify that app-based drivers are not
46	46	7employees, and network companies are not employers, for purposes of chapters 149, 151, 151A
47	47	8or 152, guaranteeing app-based drivers the freedom and flexibility to choose when, where, how,
48	48	9and for whom they work.
49	49	10 Section 3. Classification of App-Based Drivers. Notwithstanding any general or special
50	50	11law, or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, for purposes of chapters 149, 151, 151A,
51	51	12or 152, an app-based driver, as defined in section 4 of this chapter, is not an employee with 3 of 8
52	52	13respect to his or her relationship with a network company and a network company is not an
53	53	14employer with respect to its relationship with an app-based driver.
54	54	15 Section 4. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following words shall have
55	55	16the following meanings:
56	56	17 "App-based driver" a person who is a DNC courier, a TNC driver, or both, who has a
57	57	18contract with a network company, and for whom the following requirements are met:
58	58	19 (a)the network company does not unilaterally prescribe specific dates, times of day,
59	59	20or a minimum number of hours during which the app-based driver must be logged into the
60	60	21network company's online-enabled application or platform;
61	61	22 (b)the network company may not terminate the contract of the app-based driver for
62	62	23not accepting a specific transportation service or delivery service request except where refusal
63	63	24constitutes a violation of governing federal, state, or local laws or regulations;
64	64	25 (c)the network company does not restrict the app-based driver from performing
65	65	26services through other network companies except while performing services through the network
66	66	27company's online-enabled application or platform; and
67	67	28 (d)the network company does not contractually restrict the app-based driver from
68	68	29working in any other lawful occupation or business.
69	69	30 "Contract", a written agreement, which may be electronic, between an app-based driver
70	70	31and a network company.
71	71	32 "Delivery network company" or "DNC", a business entity that maintains an online-
72	72	33enabled application or platform used to facilitate delivery services within the Commonwealth. 4 of 8
73	73	34 "Delivery network company courier" or "DNC courier", a person who provides delivery
74	74	35services through a DNC' s online-enabled application or platform.
75	75	36 "Delivery services", the fulfillment of a delivery request, meaning the pickup from any
76	76	37location in the Commonwealth of any item or items and the delivery of the items using a private
77	77	38passenger motor vehicle, bicycle, electric bicycle, motorized bicycle, scooter, motorized scooter,
78	78	39walking, public transportation, or other similar means of transportation, to a location selected by
79	79	40the customer located within 50 miles of the pickup location. A delivery request may include
80	80	41more than I, but not more than 30, distinct orders placed by different customers. Delivery
81	81	42services may include the selection, collection, or purchase of items by a DNC courier, as well as
82	82	43 other.tasks incident to a delivery. Delivery services do not include assistance with
83	83	44residential moving services.
84	84	45 "Network company", a business entity operating as:
85	85	46 (a)a delivery network company;
86	86	47 (b)a transportation network company; or
87	87	48 (c)both.
88	88	49 "Person", shall have the same definition as provided in clause twenty-third of section 7 of
89	89	50chapter 4 of the Massachusetts General Laws.
90	90	51 "Private passenger motor vehicle," any passenger vehicle which has a vehicle weight
91	91	52rating or curb weight of 6,000 lbs. or less as per manufacturer's description of said vehicle or is a
92	92	53sport utility vehicle, passenger van, or pickup truck. 5 of 8
93	93	54 "Transportation network company" or "TNC", shall have the same meaning as provided
94	94	55in section I of chapter 159Al/2 of the Massachusetts General Laws.
95	95	56 "Transportation network company driver" or "TNC driver", a Transportation network
96	96	57driver, as defined in section I of chapter 159Al/2 of the Massachusetts General Laws, that
97	97	58provides transportation services, or a person operating a livery vehicle as defined in 540 CMR
98	98	592.00 on a TNC's digital network, as defined in section I of chapter 159Al/2.
99	99	60 "Transportation services", the provision of transportation facilitated by the digital
100	100	61network, as defined in section I of chapter l 59Al/2 of the Massachusetts General Laws, of a
101	101	62TNC for which the pickup of the passenger occurs in the Commonwealth.
102	102	63 Section 5. Effective Date.
103	103	64 Chapter 159AA of the Massachusetts General Laws shall take effect as provided in
104	104	65Article 48 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution, as amended. 6 of 8
105	105	FIRST TEN SIGNERS
106	106	NameResidenceCity or TownCharles Dewey Ellison, III195 West Canton Street, # 2BostonAbigail Kennedy Horrigan114 Eastern AvenueWoburnBrian Gitschier58 East Springfield Street, # 2 BostonDaniel A. Svirsky248 School StreetWatertownSean A. Rogers9 Atkins Street, # 1BostonCaitlin Donovan16 Fox Run RoadDoverBrendan M. Joyce79 Breakneck RoadSturbridgeTroy B. McHenry402 Ashmont Street, # 1BostonKimberly Ann Ahern15 Pond StreetBostonChristina M. Ellis-Hibbett563 Ashmont StreetBoston 7 of 8
107	107	CERTIFICATE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.
108	108	September 6, 2023.
109	109	Honorable William Francis Galvin
110	110	Secretary of the Commonwealth
111	111	One Ashburton Place, Room 1705
112	112	Boston, Massachusetts 02108
113	113	Re: Initiative Petition No. 23-30: Initiative Petition for A Law Defining and
114	114	Regulating the Relationship between Network Companies and App-
115	115	Based Drivers for Certain Purposes of the General Laws – Version G
116	116	Dear Secretary Galvin:
117	117	In accordance with the provisions of Article 48 of the Amendments to
118	118	the Massachusetts Constitution, I have reviewed the above-referenced initiative
119	119	petition, which was submitted to me on or before the first Wednesday of August
120	120	of this year.
121	121	I hereby certify that this measure is in proper form for submission to
122	122	the people; that the measure is not, either affirmatively or negatively,
123	123	substantially the same as any measure which has been qualified for submission
124	124	or submitted to the people at either of the two preceding biennial state elections;
125	125	and that it contains only subjects that are related or are mutually dependent and
126	126	which are not excluded from the initiative process pursuant to Article 48, the
127	127	Initiative, Part 2, Section 2.
128	128	In accordance with Article 48, I enclose a fair, concise summary of the
129	129	measure.
130	130	Sincerely,
131	131	ANDREA JOY CAMPBELL,
132	132	Attorney General.
133	133	Enclosure. 8 of 8
134	134	SUMMARY OF 23-30.
135	135	This proposed law would specify that rideshare and delivery drivers who accept requests through an online-
136	136	enabled application are not “employees” for purposes of certain Massachusetts labor and employment laws,
137	137	including laws regarding workplace conditions, minimum wages, unemployment insurance, and workers’
138	138	compensation. This proposed law would also specify that rideshare and delivery companies are not “employers” for
139	139	purposes of those laws.
140	140	The proposed law would apply to drivers for rideshare and delivery companies who use digital applications
141	141	and who are (1) not required to work specific days or hours; (2) not required to accept specific requests; (3) not
142	142	restricted from working with multiple rideshare or delivery companies; and (4) not restricted from working in any
143	143	other lawful occupation or business.
144	144