Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H4260 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. 4260
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 of Article
14	14	XLVIII of the Amendments to the Constitution an initiative petition for “A Law
15	15	Establishing that App-Based Drivers are not Employees, and Network Companies
16	16	are not Employers, for Certain Purposes of the General Laws,” signed by ten
17	17	qualified voters and filed with this department on or before December 6, 2023,
18	18	together with additional signatures of qualified voters in the number of 90,112,
19	19	being a sufficient number to comply with the Provisions of said Article.
20	20	Sincerely,
21	21	WILLIAM FRANCIS GALVIN
22	22	Secretary of the Commonwealth.
23	23	AN INITIATIVE PETITION.
24	24	Pursuant to Article XLVIII of the Amendments to the Constitution of the
25	25	Commonwealth, as amended, the undersigned qualified voters of the
26	26	Commonwealth, ten in number at least, hereby petition for the enactment into law
27	27	of the following measure: 2 of 8
28	28	FILED ON: 1/18/2024
29	29	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4260
30	30	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
31	31	_______________
32	32	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
33	33	(2023-2024)
34	34	_______________
35	35	An Act Establishing that App-Based Drivers Are Not Employees, and Network Companies Are
36	36	Not Employers, for Certain Purposes of the General Laws
37	37	Be it enacted by the People, and by their authority, as follows:
38	38	1SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to clarify that app-based drivers are not employees, and
39	39	2
40	40	3network companies are not employers, for certain purposes of the General Laws, guaranteeing
41	41	4
42	42	5app-based drivers the freedom and flexibility to choose when, where, how, and for whom they
43	43	6
44	44	7work.
45	45	8
46	46	9SECTION 2. Section 148B of chapter 149 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting
47	47	10
48	48	11after subsection (e) the following subsection:
49	49	12
50	50	13(f) Notwithstanding subsection (a), for the purpose of this chapter and chapter 151, an app-based
51	51	14
52	52	15driver, as defined in chapter 159AA, shall not be an employee under those chapters.
53	53	16
54	54	17SECTION 3. Section 6 of chapter 151A of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting
55	55	18
56	56	19after subsection (x) the following subsection:
57	57	20
58	58	21(y) Service performed by an app-based driver, as defined in chapter 159AA.
59	59	22
60	60	23SECTION 4. Subsection (4) of section 1 of chapter 152 of the General Laws is hereby amended
61	61	24
62	62	25by striking out the words "and (g)" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- (g) a
63	63	26
64	64	27person who is an app-based driver, as defined in chapter 159AA, and (h)
65	65	28
66	66	29SECTION 5. The General Laws are hereby amended by inserting after chapter 159Al/2 the 3 of 8
67	67	30
68	68	31following chapter:
69	69	32
70	70	33Chapter 159AA
71	71	34
72	72	35Section 1. Title. This chapter shall be known as the "App-Based Drivers Classification Act."
73	73	36
74	74	37Section 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following words shall have the
75	75	38
76	76	39following meanings:
77	77	40
78	78	41 "App-based driver" a person who is a DNC courier, a TNC driver, or both, who has a
79	79	42
80	80	43contract with a network company, and for whom the following requirements are met:
81	81	44
82	82	45 (a)the network company does not unilaterally prescribe specific dates, times of day, or a
83	83	46
84	84	47minimum number of hours during which the app-based driver must be logged into the network
85	85	48
86	86	49company's online-enabled application or platform;
87	87	50
88	88	51 (b)the network company may not terminate the contract of the app-based driver for not
89	89	52
90	90	53accepting a specific transportation service or delivery service request except where refusal
91	91	54
92	92	55constitutes a violation of governing federal, state, or local laws or regulations;
93	93	56
94	94	57 (c)the network company does not restrict the app-based driver from performing services
95	95	58
96	96	59through other network companies except while performing services through the network
97	97	60
98	98	61company's online-enabled application or platform; and
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100	100	63 (d)the network company does not contractually restrict the app-based driver from working in
101	101	64
102	102	65any other lawful occupation or business.
103	103	66
104	104	67 "Contract", a written agreement, which may be electronic, between an app-based driver and a
105	105	68
106	106	69network company.
107	107	70
108	108	71 "Delivery network company" or "DNC", a business entity that maintains an online-enabled
109	109	72
110	110	73application or platform used to facilitate delivery services within the Commonwealth.
111	111	74
112	112	75 "Delivery network company courier" or "DNC courier", a person who provides delivery 4 of 8
113	113	76
114	114	77services through a DNC's online-enabled application or platform.
115	115	78
116	116	79 "Delivery services", the fulfillment of a delivery request, meaning the pickup from any
117	117	80
118	118	81location in the Commonwealth of any item or items and the delivery of the items using a private
119	119	82
120	120	83passenger motor vehicle, bicycle, electric bicycle, motorized bicycle, scooter, motorized scooter,
121	121	84
122	122	85walking, public transportation, or other similar means of transportation, to a location selected by
123	123	86
124	124	87the customer located within 50 miles of the pickup location. A delivery request may include
125	125	88
126	126	89more than 1, but not more than 30, distinct orders placed by different customers. Delivery
127	127	90
128	128	91services may include the selection, collection, or purchase of items by a DNC courier, as well as
129	129	92
130	130	93other tasks incident to a delivery. Delivery services do not include assistance with residential
131	131	94
132	132	95moving services.
133	133	96
134	134	97 "Network company", a business entity operating as:
135	135	98
136	136	99 (a) a delivery network company;
137	137	100
138	138	101 (b) a transportation network company; or
139	139	102
140	140	103 (c) both.
141	141	104
142	142	105 "Person", shall have the same definition as provided in clause twenty-third of section 7 of
143	143	106
144	144	107chapter 4 of the Massachusetts General Laws.
145	145	108
146	146	109 "Private passenger motor vehicle", any passenger vehicle which has a vehicle weight rating
147	147	110
148	148	111or curb weight of 6,000 lbs. or less as per manufacturer's description of said vehicle or is a sport
149	149	112
150	150	113utility vehicle, passenger van, or pickup truck.
151	151	114
152	152	115 "Transportation network company" or "TNC", shall have the same meaning as provided in
153	153	116
154	154	117section 1 of chapter 159Al/2 of the Massachusetts General Laws.
155	155	118
156	156	119 "Transportation network company driver" or "TNC driver", a Transportation network driver,
157	157	120
158	158	121as defined in section 1 of chapter 159A1/2 of the Massachusetts General Laws, that provides 5 of 8
159	159	122
160	160	123transportation services, or a person operating a livery vehicle as defined in 540 CMR 2.00 on a
161	161	124
162	162	125TNC's digital network, as defined in section 1 of chapter 159A1/2.
163	163	126
164	164	127 "Transportation services", the provision of transportation facilitated by the digital network, as
165	165	128
166	166	129defined in section 1 of chapter 159A1/2 of the Massachusetts General Laws, of a TNC for which
167	167	130
168	168	131the pickup of the passenger occurs in the Commonwealth.
169	169	132
170	170	133SECTION 6. This act shall take effect as provided in Article 48 of the Amendments to the
171	171	134
172	172	135Massachusetts Constitution, as amended.
173	173	FIRST TEN SIGNERS 6 of 8
174	174	NAMERESIDENCECITY OR TOWNCharles Dewey Ellison, III195 West Canton Street, # 2BostonAbigail Kennedy Horrigan114 Eastern Avenue Woburn Brian Gitschier58 East Springfield Street, # 2BostonDaniel 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 Street Boston
175	175	CERTIFICATE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. 7 of 8
176	176	Honorable William Francis Galvin Secretary of the Commonwealth One Ashburton Place, Room 1705 Boston, Massachusetts 02108
177	177	RE:
178	178
179	179	Initiative Petition No. 23-32: Initiative Petition for A Law Establishing
180	180	that App-Based Drivers are not Employees, and Network Companies are not
181	181	Employers, for Certain Purposes of the General Laws – Version I
182	182	Dear Secretary Galvin:
183	183	In accordance with the provisions of Article 48 of the Amendments to
184	184	the Massachusetts Constitution, I have reviewed the above-referenced
185	185	initiative petition, which was submitted to me on or before the first Wednesday
186	186	of August of this year.
187	187	I hereby certify that this measure is in proper form for submission to
188	188	the people; that the measure is not, either affirmatively or negatively,
189	189	substantially the same as any measure which has been qualified for submission
190	190	or submitted to the people at either of the two preceding biennial state
191	191	elections; and that it contains only subjects that are related or are mutually
192	192	dependent and which are not excluded from the initiative process pursuant to
193	193	Article 48, the Initiative, Part 2, Section 2.
194	194	In accordance with Article 48, I enclose a fair, concise summary of the
195	195	measure.
196	196	Sincerely,
197	197	Andrea Joy Campbell
198	198	Enclosure 8 of 8
199	199	Summary of 23-32.
200	200	This proposed law would specify that rideshare and delivery drivers who accept
201	201	requests through an online-enabled application are not “employees” for purposes of
202	202	certain Massachusetts laws regarding workplace conditions, minimum wages,
203	203	unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation. This proposed law would also
204	204	specify that rideshare and delivery companies are not “employers” for purposes of those
205	205	laws.
206	206	The proposed law would apply to drivers for rideshare and delivery companies
207	207	who use digital applications and who are (1) not required to work specific days or hours;
208	208	(2) not required to accept specific requests; (3) not restricted from working with multiple
209	209	rideshare or delivery companies; and (4) not restricted from working in any other lawful
210	210	occupation or business.