A committee appointed to recommend a state policy offering protections and increased pay for rideshare drivers finalized a handful of draft recommendations at the committee’s final meeting on Tuesday, but it couldn’t find much agreement in important areas like compensation.
The recommendations and data analysis from the committee will be submitted to the state Legislature by Jan. 1. The committee was formed after Gov. Tim Walz vetoed legislation that would have boosted pay and protections for rideshare drivers. The recommendations are meant to inform legislative action next session.
The committee, which is made up of state lawmakers, officials and representatives of both rideshare companies and drivers, failed to make much progress on the core issue of minimum compensation for drivers.
Naheeda Hirji-Walji, director of public engagement and assistant to the commissioner at the department of labor and industry, holds a diagram displaying Minnesota TNC-taxi driver demographics on Tuesday.
Kerem Yücel | MPR News
The rideshare companies offered $40 an hour as a starting point, but advocates of rideshare drivers wanted a specified per minute, per mile minimum compensation, which rideshare companies said they weren’t willing to do without more analysis. They did agree that drivers will receive a minimum of $5 for every ride.
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All parties came to consensus on a number of other provisions, including the principle that tips are the property of the driver and should not be counted against any future minimum compensation. They also agreed that the minimum compensation would be adjusted annually, the same way as the state’s minimum wage.
The committee is also unanimously recommending that rideshare companies provide drivers with insurance for injuries not covered by car insurance, for instance, the assault of a driver.
Participants review a meeting agenda during the Governor’s Committee on Compensation, Wellbeing, and Fair Treatment of Transportation Network Company Drivers at the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry on Tuesday.
Kerem Yücel | MPR News
They’re also recommending that the insurance would compensate drivers for lost wages from injuries and medical expenses. In the event of a driver’s death during work, the companies would provide survivor benefits up to $1 million.
The committee was created by an executive order signed by the governor at the end of May and is made up of 15 members, ten of whom were appointed by the governor. They started meeting in July, and moved forward just recommendations that all parties could agree on.
Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.