AN ACT Relating to transportation network companies;
HB 1332 regulates transportation network companies such as ride-hailing platforms and their drivers in Washington. The bill defines key terms related to digital networks, dispatch platform time, passenger platform time, shared rides, tips, driver resource centers, and account deactivations. It establishes minimum compensation standards for drivers based on time, miles, and trip minimums, with different formulas depending on whether a trip originates in a city above a population threshold or elsewhere, and it requires annual inflation-related adjustments to those rates.
The bill also requires companies to provide detailed trip-by-trip receipts and weekly earnings notices, including pay components, deductions, tips, and trip data. It restricts deductions from driver compensation unless expressly authorized in writing, requires notice of driver rights, and mandates that tips be passed through to drivers. In addition, it creates a per-trip surcharge to fund a driver resource center, and it sets out a framework for driver account deactivation appeals, including notice, representation rights, informal resolution, and binding arbitration or other approved dispute-resolution processes. The act also includes provisions on vehicle eligibility changes, notice before changing vehicle requirements, and rules intended to clarify that drivers are not employees or agents if specified independence factors are met.
HB 1332 amends Washington statutes governing transportation network companies, primarily RCW chapter 49.46 and related provisions, and adds new sections to create wage, notice, recordkeeping, surcharge, and dispute-resolution requirements for TNCs operating in the state. It affects ride-hailing companies, drivers, passengers, and the newly established or funded driver resource center by imposing minimum pay standards, disclosure obligations, limits on deductions, and a mandatory per-trip fee to support driver services. The bill also creates administrative authority for the Department of Labor and Industries to adopt rules and oversee compliance, while preserving a statutory framework under which drivers are not deemed employees or agents if certain conditions are met.
The bill appears to have received mixed but ultimately sufficient support, passing both chambers with notable but not overwhelming margins. Committee votes were favorable, though closer in the Senate committee and on Senate floor passage, suggesting some reservations even among supporters. The final enactment indicates broad enough agreement on the need for ride-hail driver protections and compensation standards, but not unanimous consensus.
The main points of contention appear to center on labor classification, company control over drivers, and the cost and administrative burden of the new requirements. Supporters likely emphasized minimum compensation, transparency, tip pass-through, and appeal rights for deactivations, while opponents may have objected to mandated pay formulas, the per-trip surcharge, restrictions on deductions, and the new dispute-resolution structure. The bill’s detailed independence test for drivers and its provisions governing deactivation appeals and arbitration suggest ongoing tension between protecting gig workers and preserving the contractor model used by transportation network companies.