An act to add Chapter 10.7 (commencing with Section 7470) to Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, and to add Section 7927.710 to the Government Code, relating to transportation.
AB 1340 creates the Transportation Network Company Drivers Labor Relations Act, a new labor-relations framework for California rideshare and other transportation network company (TNC) drivers. The bill gives TNC drivers the right to organize, join driver organizations, select bargaining representatives, engage in concerted activity, and refrain from such activity. It assigns enforcement to the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) and sets up a detailed process for determining which TNCs are covered, identifying “active” drivers, certifying driver organizations, conducting representation elections, and handling decertification.
The bill establishes a statewide, sectoral bargaining model rather than company-by-company bargaining. Once a driver organization is certified, covered TNCs must bargain in good faith over wages, benefits, deactivation appeals, safety-related issues, grievance and arbitration procedures, dues deduction, and related terms and conditions of work. If bargaining stalls, the bill provides for mediation and then binding arbitration procedures, subject to board review and approval of any resulting sectoral agreement. It also preserves TNC control over core business decisions such as product design, pricing, algorithms, and operations, and it expressly prohibits any sectoral agreement from reducing Proposition 22 minimum guarantees or changing drivers’ independent-contractor status.
AB 1340 also requires quarterly reporting by TNCs to PERB, including ride-volume data and driver contact/work information for drivers meeting the bill’s activity threshold. The bill directs PERB to compile lists of covered TNCs and active drivers, to notify drivers and organizations, and to enforce unfair practice rules against both companies and driver organizations. It further exempts mediator and arbitrator meetings from the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act and shields driver information submitted to PERB from public disclosure under the California Public Records Act, while making legislative findings to support those privacy-related limits.
The overall sentiment reflected in the bill’s legislative path appears generally favorable to the measure, with repeated committee approvals and a successful concurrence vote, though not without opposition. The vote history shows substantial support in both houses, but also a meaningful minority of no votes, suggesting the bill was politically significant and somewhat contested. The absence of committee transcript snippets limits insight into specific floor or committee arguments, but the structure of the bill indicates it was advanced as a major labor-rights expansion for app-based drivers.
The main points of contention are likely the bill’s impact on Proposition 22, the scope of PERB’s authority, the mandatory disclosure of driver data to the state and bargaining representatives, and the use of sectoral arbitration to set industry-wide terms. Supporters would view the bill as extending collective-bargaining rights to a workforce that lacks traditional labor protections, while critics would likely focus on privacy concerns, administrative burden, antitrust implications, and the possibility that statewide bargaining could constrain competition or business flexibility. The bill’s explicit preservation of independent-contractor status and company autonomy appears designed to address some of those concerns.
AB 1340 adds a new chapter to the Business and Professions Code governing labor relations for transportation network company drivers and adds a Public Records Act exemption in the Government Code for driver information submitted to PERB. It expands state labor-law coverage to create a PERB-administered organizing, certification, bargaining, mediation, arbitration, and unfair-practice regime for TNC drivers, while carving out protections for Proposition 22 minimum standards, independent-contractor status, and TNC control over core platform operations. It also limits public access to certain driver records and exempts mediator/arbitrator negotiations from Bagley-Keene.
The bill appears to have had generally positive momentum in the Legislature, with multiple committee approvals and strong floor votes, culminating in chaptering by the Governor. At the same time, the recorded no votes indicate notable opposition, suggesting the measure was supported by a majority but remained controversial. Overall, the legislative record points to a bill that was advanced as a significant labor-policy change for app-based drivers, but one that drew sustained resistance from some lawmakers.
The most significant points of contention are the bill’s creation of a statewide sectoral bargaining system for TNC drivers, the requirement that companies provide detailed driver information to PERB and certified organizations, and the bill’s interaction with Proposition 22. Opponents would likely object to the privacy implications of sharing driver contact and work data, the administrative and compliance burdens on TNCs, and the antitrust/competition effects of industry-wide bargaining and arbitration. Supporters, by contrast, would emphasize organizing rights, fair representation, and improved working conditions for drivers who are otherwise treated as independent contractors.