To amend sections 4121.01, 4123.01, 4123.26, 4123.29, 4123.35, 4925.01, and 4925.10 and to enact sections 4925.15, 4925.16, 4925.17, 4925.18, 4925.19, 4925.20, 4925.25, 4925.26, 4925.27, and 4925.28 of the Revised Code regarding minimum pay, workers' compensation, and other requirements applicable to transportation network company drivers.
HB840 would substantially revise Ohio law governing transportation network companies (TNCs) such as rideshare platforms and their drivers. The bill keeps the current general rule that TNC drivers are not employees for most labor and employment statutes, but it creates a new set of wage, recordkeeping, reporting, and enforcement requirements specific to TNC work. Beginning January 1, 2027, TNCs would have to pay drivers minimum compensation based on passenger platform time and passenger platform miles, with different minimums for trips originating in cities over 600,000 population and for other trips, and those minimums would be indexed to inflation each year. The bill also requires itemized receipts, weekly pay notices, limits on deductions, anti-retaliation protections, and a complaint process administered by the director of commerce with civil penalties and back pay remedies.
The bill also creates a driver resource center, to be selected by the state through a competitive process, and funds it through a per-trip fee collected by TNCs plus voluntary driver deductions if enough drivers authorize them. The center would provide services to drivers and would be involved in a new appeals process for account deactivations. For eligible deactivations, the bill requires a structured dispute-resolution process that includes notice, representation, informal resolution, a just-cause standard, and binding arbitration if needed, with director approval of the overall agreement between the company and the center. The bill expressly states that the state intends to displace competition with regulation in this area.
HB840 also amends Ohio workers’ compensation statutes to treat TNC drivers as employees for workers’ compensation purposes while they are engaged in passenger platform time or dispatch platform time. It requires TNCs to report hours and compensation to the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and to pay workers’ compensation premiums quarterly based on those platform hours, using taxicab-like rates and allowing the administrator to adjust the formula by rule. Related amendments update definitions of employee and employer in the workers’ compensation chapters, while preserving the general exclusion of TNC drivers from other labor laws unless a written contract says otherwise. The bill also makes conforming changes to payroll reporting, premium calculation, self-insurance, and related administrative provisions.
The overall sentiment reflected in the bill text is strongly pro-driver and regulatory in nature, with a clear emphasis on minimum pay, transparency, appeal rights, and workers’ compensation coverage. Because the bill was only introduced and no committee transcript or vote history is provided, there is no recorded floor or committee sentiment to measure, but the structure of the proposal suggests support for gig-worker protections and state oversight rather than a neutral or deregulatory approach. The bill’s effective dates and detailed administrative framework indicate it is designed as a comprehensive regulatory package rather than a narrow fix.
The main points of contention likely center on whether TNC drivers should be treated more like employees for pay and workers’ compensation purposes, the cost impact on rideshare companies and riders, and the extent of state control over deactivation disputes. TNCs may object to the minimum compensation formula, the per-trip fee for the driver resource center, the reporting burden, and the binding dispute-resolution structure. Driver advocates would likely support the bill’s wage floor, anti-retaliation rules, and access to representation, while opponents may argue that the bill could raise fares, reduce driver flexibility, or conflict with the existing independent-contractor model.
HB840 would amend Ohio’s workers’ compensation and transportation network company statutes to create a new legal framework for rideshare drivers. It would expand workers’ compensation coverage to TNC drivers during passenger platform time and dispatch platform time, require TNC-specific premium calculations and reporting, and add new administrative duties for the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and the Department of Commerce. It would also create new statutory rights and enforcement mechanisms for driver pay, deductions, disclosures, retaliation, and account deactivation appeals, affecting TNCs, drivers, the driver resource center, and state agencies.
The bill appears generally supportive of transportation network company drivers and more skeptical of the current gig-work model, because it imposes minimum compensation standards, workers’ compensation coverage, disclosure requirements, and appeal rights. No committee transcript or vote record is provided, so there is no documented legislative debate or recorded vote sentiment to summarize. Based on the text alone, the proposal is best characterized as pro-worker and regulatory, with a significant compliance burden on TNCs.
The likely central contention is whether transportation network company drivers should receive employee-like protections for pay and workers’ compensation while still remaining outside most other labor statutes. Another major issue is the bill’s cost structure: TNCs would bear minimum-pay obligations, quarterly workers’ compensation premiums, reporting duties, and a per-trip fee to fund the driver resource center, all of which could be opposed by industry stakeholders. The deactivation-appeal process may also be controversial because it creates a state-supervised, just-cause-based dispute system that could limit platform discretion, while driver advocates would likely favor the added due process and representation rights.