Last year California voters voted to adopt Proposition 22- a $200MM voter ballot initiative funded by Lyft and Uber to reverse state legislation that provided some gig workers employee status under the law.California Assembly Bill 5 codified (made into law) a 2018 California Supreme Court decision,Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles

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.In that unanimous decision, the California Supreme Court stated in dicta (non-binding language) that the misclassification of workers as independent contractors has been a significant factor in the erosion of the middle class and the rise in income inequality.Wow!

Proponents of Proposition 22 stated that gig drivers wanted to remain independent contractors.Here'sone of the ads in favor of Prop 22.

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Thoseagainst Prop 22

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said that gig workers should be afforded basic worker protections like minimum wage and health care benefits.

In other news, just law week, theUnited Kingdom Supreme Court held that Uber workers are not independent contractors(Links to an external site.)

but rather employees entitled to employee protections.

For this week's essay, please discuss whether you would have voted for or against Prop 22 and why.You can also discuss what you think about how the courts, legislatures and voter initiatives can support or negate each other.Here, we had a Supreme Court opinion that was codified (made into law) by the California legislature and then abolished by a voter ballot initiative sponsored by the companies that were affected by the laws.