Seattle City Council Passes PayUp Legislation 

First-of-its-kind legislation will guarantee app-based delivery drivers a minimum wage, increase transparency, and protect flexibility

SEATTLE – The Seattle City Council unanimously passed PayUp legislation today. The legislation sponsored by Lisa Herbold (District 1 – West Seattle/South Park) and Andrew J. Lewis (District 7 – Pioneer Square to Magnolia) would, among other things, make Seattle the first city in the nation to provide app-based delivery drivers a minimum wage.

This legislation was created after a year of intensive stakeholder meetings and public hearings. It comes as a new report reviewing hundreds of records found 92 percent of jobs from app-based companies pay Seattle workers less than the minimum wage.

Quotes

“We live in an expensive city; many delivery workers earn below the minimum wage after expenses and tips are accounted for,” said Herbold. “App-based work is one of the fastest growing sectors of our economy with more workers turning to this type of work. The passage of this legislation will help tens of thousands of delivery workers make ends meet while maintaining their flexibility.”

“Large segments of our economy are becoming more and more automated with lower pay and scant benefits,” said Lewis. “As the economy evolves, so too must the approach of local government. This bill is the first step to protect and expand the rights of workers who use these apps.”

What PayUp will do

This legislation is the first bill focused on labor standards protections for this type of app-based workers. This first piece of legislation will do three things:

1. Ensure app-based workers are paid minimum wage plus expenses and tips

2. Create more transparency in employment terms and how payments are split between workers and app-based companies

3. Protect flexibility and transparency in employment issues for app-based workers

How PayUp was created

Deliberation on this legislation has occurred over nearly a year, including affected stakeholders including drivers and the companies with whom they work. Engagement thus far has included over a dozen large format stakeholder meetings, six public meetings in the Seattle City Council’s Public Safety and Human Services Committee, and a public hearing. For more information on the process and the legislation please visit our website here.

The PayUp legislation is supported by many community organizations including: Working Washington, Seattle Restaurants United, One America, Puget Sound Sage, Somali Community Services, Al Noor Islamic Community Center, El Centro de la Raza, Casa Latina, National Domestic Workers Alliance, SEIU 775, SEIU 6, Transit Riders Union, and the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance

What’s next

This is just the first piece of legislation broadly known as PayUp that would establish workplace protections for many app-based workers. The next bills will seek to address:

• Restroom access;
• Anti-discrimination policies;
• Background checks;
• Deactivation protection; and
• Creation of a gig worker advisory board for the City of Seattle.