“To promote transparency and accountability in covered digital labor platform work, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section states congressional findings regarding digital labor platforms (i.e., apps that allocate and manage work) used by businesses in industries such as ride-hail, delivery, retail, hospitality, warehousing, and food services. The findings note that app-based workers are diverse but disproportionately people of color (42% vs. 29% of overall workforce) and women in delivery (majority) and certain sectors; often earn poverty wages with few benefits due to misclassification as independent contractors; face discriminatory pricing and wages; and are subject to opaque electronic monitoring and algorithms for work assignment, pay, and customer pricing (including variable "take rates") that enable wage theft, minimum wage violations, tip-stealing, discrimination, and employer savings of up to 30% of payroll costs by avoiding contributions to unemployment insurance and Social Security.
This section defines terms used in the Act, including (1) "adverse action" (i.e., a platform action negatively impacting an app-based worker's work access, terms, or privileges, such as reduced assignments, suspension, or termination); (2) "app-based worker" (i.e., an individual performing remunerated work via a covered digital labor platform); (3) "covered digital labor platform" (i.e., an online app or site facilitating consumer-requested services by app-based workers using automated decision systems or monitoring, excluding platforms solely connecting providers to customers without work-term involvement, volunteer organizers, or short-term rental/goods-resale sites); (4) "covered digital labor platform provider" (i.e., a person engaging or facilitating such work); (5) "automated decision system" (i.e., computational tools replacing human judgment, excluding basic filters or calculators); and others such as "applicant," "attribute," "authorized agent," "data," and "aggregated app-based worker data." The terms "commerce" and "person" have the meanings given in the Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 203).
This section requires a covered digital labor platform provider using or intending to use an electronic monitoring tool or automated decision system to provide app-based workers and applicants subject to such tools with a notice describing (1) how the tools will be used and data collected or used; (2) for monitoring tools, monitored activities, use in automated decisions or compensation/work assignments, and data storage/access/retention; (3) for automated decision systems, methods, inputs, attributes, data, weights, and individualized outputs affecting compensation or work; (4) consumer pricing determination methods; (5) work assignment determination methods; and (6) grounds for adverse actions. The notice must be provided to applicants before performing work; to existing workers for tools in effect pre-enactment by the later of 30 days after a final rule or 180 days post-enactment, or for new tools at least 96 hours beforehand; annually to prior-year workers; in the worker's primary language; and within 5 business days of any request. This section further requires providers using such tools for work-related decisions substantially impacting compensation, assignments, or platform access to provide workers a comprehensive notice detailing data/attributes used, automated system inputs/weights/outputs, and the range of possible outputs.
This section establishes accountability requirements for covered digital labor platform providers as follows: (1) caps the take rate for consumer on-demand transportation services at 25 percent and limits related fees such that the ratio of non-remunerated consumer payments (exclusive of tips) to total consumer payments plus fees does not exceed 25 percent; (2) requires providers to offer app-based workers an opportunity to voluntarily disclose demographic data, subject to privacy-protecting regulations from the Secretary in consultation with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; (3) prohibits individualized algorithmic wage setting that offers different compensation for substantially similar tasks unless based on worker-specific cost differentials or a collective bargaining agreement, bans use of individualized surveillance data in automated compensation decisions absent such justifications, and exempts providers that do not set worker pay rates or consumer charges; (4) bars use of electronic monitoring, automated decision systems, or worker data to infer sensitive attributes (e.g., immigration status, political opinion, disability, health, sexual orientation, union activity) and limits data collection to time worked; and (5) prohibits platform interfaces with unfair, covert, or deceptive compensation information (e.g., bonuses) that obscure worker access and inhibit informed work decisions.
This section requires covered digital labor platform providers and their vendors to (1) retain for four years contemporaneous records of data on app-based workers collected using an electronic monitoring tool (i.e., technology tracking worker location, performance, or behavior) or used as an automated decision system input (i.e., algorithms determining work assignments, pay, or eligibility); (2) refrain from selling, transferring, or disclosing such data except pursuant to a request from the worker's authorized agent or as required by state or federal law (with notice to the worker); and (3) collect, process, store, and retain all app-based worker data to protect worker privacy (i.e., from unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure) and in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Secretary. The section further requires such providers and vendors to disclose retained data to an app-based worker, former worker, or authorized agent within five business days of a request (except as provided under section 4(a)(2)(B) regarding comprehensive use notices).
This section authorizes an app-based worker to designate, in writing, an agent to receive specified notices and disclosures (under section 4(a)(1), (2), (4), or (5), or 6(b)) from the worker's covered digital labor platform provider. The section requires the platform to provide the agent an additional copy of each such notice or disclosure when due to the worker or upon the agent's request (via a designated email address, with initial response within 10 business days); limits the agent's use of any worker information to authorized purposes; and requires the agent to notify the worker before disclosing information to a government entity pursuant to subpoena or court order.
This section prohibits covered digital labor platform providers from discriminating or retaliating against app-based workers (e.g., through deactivation, reduced compensation, or harassment) for exercising rights under the Act or engaging in protected activities, including filing complaints of violations of sections 4, 5, or 6 or participating in related inquiries or proceedings. It establishes a rebuttable presumption that an adverse action within 90 days of such protected activity violates the prohibition.
This section authorizes the Secretary of Labor to enforce the Act by (1) investigating compliance through review of disclosures under section 4(c)(1), public reports on compensation and hours, data collection, inspections, worker questioning, and joint information requests; (2) requiring additional annual or special reports from covered digital labor platform providers; (3) receiving, investigating, and resolving app-based worker complaints of violations of sections 4, 5, 6, and 8 in the manner used for Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sections 6 and 7 (minimum wage and overtime requirements); (4) conducting public education on worker rights; (5) litigating through the Solicitor of Labor; and (6) referring evidence of criminal violations to the Attorney General. This section establishes a private right of action in federal court, notwithstanding Secretary actions, allowing (1) affected app-based workers, (2) consumers, (3) their authorized agents, or (4) adversely affected labor organizations or worker centers to sue covered digital labor platform providers (or vendors, as applicable) for violations of specified provisions of sections 4, 5, 6, or 8. Prevailing plaintiffs are entitled to statutory damages of not less than $20,000 per failure to provide notices under section 4(a)(1)-(3), $5,000 per untimely notice under those paragraphs or per violation of section 4(a)(4)-(5) or 5(c), or $1,000 per violation of section 4(a)(6); actual damages plus an equal amount in liquidated damages; reasonable attorney’s fees and costs; and equitable or injunctive relief.
This section provides a rule of construction clarifying that, for purposes of this Act, a covered digital labor platform provider's use of an electronic monitoring tool or automated decision system includes such use by a vendor or other third party acting on the provider's behalf.
This section directs the Secretary to issue regulations not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act that (1) define and delimit any undefined term used in this Act, including by providing examples of the application of the term to different app-based occupations as determined necessary by the Secretary; (2) further clarify, define, or delimit any term defined in this Act (including the terms "substantially impacts," "aggregated app-based worker data," "data," "take rate," "time on task," and "time worked"), including by providing examples of the application of the term to different app-based occupations as determined necessary by the Secretary; and (3) provide for industry- or occupation-specific rules, as determined necessary by the Secretary.
This section limits judicial review of regulations promulgated by the Secretary under the Act. It requires courts, when reviewing such regulations under section 706 of title 5, United States Code (i.e., Administrative Procedure Act standards for agency action), to determine only whether the Secretary's interpretation is based on a reasonable or permissible construction of the Act. For actions seeking declaratory or injunctive relief challenging the constitutionality or lawfulness of such regulations—whether facial or as-applied—this section (1) imposes a three-year limitations period from the date of promulgation and (2) requires filing in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
This section clarifies the Act's relation to other laws by (1) preserving state authority to enact or enforce laws providing equal or greater protections for app-based workers or consumers; (2) providing no safe harbor from federal, state, or local minimum wage, maximum hours, or nondiscrimination requirements; (3) invalidating predispute arbitration agreements and joint-action waivers between app-based workers and covered digital labor platform providers, notwithstanding the Federal Arbitration Act; (4) invalidating contract provisions, including nondisclosure agreements, that prohibit information disclosure by such workers; (5) prohibiting waiver of the Act's rights and remedies; and (6) affirming that covered digital labor platform providers remain subject to all Fair Labor Standards Act requirements, including recordkeeping, investigations, state/local collaboration, and homework regulations.
This section prohibits construing this Act as requiring, or providing justification for, a covered digital labor platform provider to alter any policy, procedure, or system in a manner that decreases, limits, or impedes the scheduling flexibility or access to work of an app-based worker.
This section includes a standard severability clause, providing that if any provision of the Act, or its application to any person or circumstance, is held unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act and its application to any other person or circumstance remains unaffected.