Minnesota Legislature approves minimum wage for Uber and Lyft drivers

[RandySF]

The Minnesota Senate passed a bill on Sunday that would set minimum pay rates for Uber and Lyft drivers and establish greater protections against wrongful termination – or “deactivation.”

“Minnesota has long been a leader in protecting workers from being exploited and taken advantage of, but in the area of (transportation network companies) Minnesota is lagging behind,” the bill’s chief author, Sen. Omar Fateh, DFL-Minneapolis, said on the Senate floor.

As independent contractors, Uber and Lyft drivers aren’t entitled to the benefits afforded employees such as minimum wage, overtime pay, Social Security and workers’ compensation insurance.

The Senate and House passed the bill (HF2369) in the final days of the legislative session despite warnings from the companies that the regulations could cause prices to double and demand to plummet. Uber said it might even shut down operations in the state completely.

Gov. Tim Walz has been decidedly non-committal about signing the bill, saying just a few hours before the Senate vote that “there’s a long ways to go yet.”




https://minnesotareformer.com/2023/05/21/minnesota-legislature-approves-minimum-wage-for-uber-and-lyft-drivers/

[jimfields33]

1. There goes the tips. I'm sure some will but most won't.

Maybe better anyway for workers.

[progree]

2. Rates --

... The bill requires transportation network companies, including Uber and Lyft, to pay drivers a $5 minimum fee plus $1.45 per mile and $0.34 per minute in the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area.

Drivers in greater Minnesota would be entitled to $1.25 per mile and $0.34 per minute. The minimum rates would increase with inflation.

There's a LOT more details in the minnesotareformer article.

I don't know if this is the right way to do it, but to price out some trips, I went to maps.google.com and clicked on the Directions icon and then the car icon and entered a start and a destination address, and it told me how many miles and how many minutes under current traffic conditions. And then I used the formula (for metro area):

$Cost = (5 + 1.45 * miles + 0.34 * minutes) * 1.20

The " * 1.20 " is to add a 20% tip (to be clear, nothing about tips in the legislation).

Later -- Oh, duh. This is what the driver gets. Uber/Lyft is going to want a bunch more on top of that. I have no idea what that might amount to.

Edited to add: "Drivers will get a minimum of $5 per trip," - this from https://kstp.com/kstp-news/local-news/rideshare-worker-protection-bill-awaits-walzs-ok/

If so, the $5 in my above formula isn't an adder, but a minimum, so my formula should be:

1.45 * miles + 0.34 * minutes
#or#
$5

whichever is greater

+ Uber/Lyft's add on + tips.

I posted in the Minnesota group https://www.democraticunderground.com/105912702