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