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(Instacart Photo)
Instacart and Uber aren’t letting up in their fight against a new law in Seattle.
The companies filed an appeal on Monday in a lawsuit related to the city’s ordinance that regulates the driver deactivation process for workers who deliver food, shop for groceries, and complete other tasks via on-demand apps.
Uber originally filed its lawsuit last month; Instacart joined later.
The companies argue that the ordinance violates its First Amendment rights and is unconstitutionally vague, among other allegations.
A federal judge on Dec. 31 rejected their effort to stop the enforcement of the law, known as the App-Based Worker Deactivation Rights Ordinance, which went into effect Jan. 1.
The law, originally passed by the Seattle City Council in August 2023 and signed at the time by Mayor Bruce Harrell, was designed to provide more job security to app-based couriers, delivery drivers, and other service providers.
Under the law, companies must give workers a 14-day notice of deactivation, base deactivations on “reasonable” policies, ensure human review of all deactivations, and provide workers with records behind the decision.
In a statement, Instacart said it will “continue to fight this incredibly flawed ordinance.”
“By allowing this ordinance to move forward, the court is putting Instacart and its customers at risk,” the company said.
In her Dec. 31 ruling, U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman dismissed the companies’ arguments, finding that the ordinance regulates business conduct, not speech, and that any speech-related effects were incidental.
“The ordinance seeks to protect app workers from unwarranted deactivations and does not impose unconstitutional burdens on companies like Uber,” the ruling stated.
The law does not apply to drivers who transport passengers, who are covered under Washington state law.
Instacart, Uber, and DoorDash were embroiled in a battle with Seattle lawmakers over a new minimum wage law for food delivery drivers last year.
Seattle has passed a number of delivery driver protection laws over the past few years.
