“A bill 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 13 congressional findings concerning digital labor platforms (i.e., apps that allocate and manage work), including (1) their use across industries such as ride-hail, delivery, retail, hospitality, warehousing, and food services; (2) the demographics of app-based workers, who are disproportionately people of color (42% vs. 29% of the overall workforce) and include a majority-women workforce in delivery; (3) job quality issues such as poverty wages, lack of benefits, wage theft, discrimination, and frequent misclassification as independent contractors; (4) discriminatory pricing and personalized wages; (5) heavy reliance on opaque electronic monitoring tools and automated decision-making algorithms (e.g., for work assignments, pay, and pricing); and (6) implications including wage theft, misclassification enabling up to 30% payroll cost savings for businesses, and opaque "take rates" that disadvantage workers and consumers.
This section defines terms used in the Act, including (1) "adverse action" as a covered digital labor platform provider action negatively impacting an app-based worker's access to or terms of work (e.g., reduced assignments, suspension, or termination); (2) "app-based worker" as an individual performing remunerated work or services on or through a covered digital labor platform; (3) "covered digital labor platform" as an electronic platform facilitating paid consumer-requested services via automated decision systems or monitoring, excluding volunteer organizers, passive service provider matchmakers, and short-term rental or resale platforms; (4) "automated decision system" as computational tools generating outputs to replace or augment human judgment in platform decisions (excluding basic tools like spam filters); and (5) others such as "applicant," "attribute," "authorized agent," "data," and cross-references to Fair Labor Standards Act definitions of "commerce" and "person."
This section requires a covered digital labor platform provider using or intending to use an electronic monitoring tool or automated decision system to provide notices to each affected app-based worker and applicant describing (1) how the tool or system will be used; (2) data collected or used; (3) for monitoring tools, monitored activities, use of data in decisions on compensation or work assignments, and data storage, retention, access, and usage details; (4) for automated decision systems, methods, inputs, attributes, data, weights, and parameters used to determine compensation or work-related decisions; (5) methods for determining consumer charges; (6) methods for work assignments; and (7) grounds for adverse actions. Notices must be provided (1) to applicants after account creation but before work begins; (2) to existing workers for tools in use on the day before enactment by the later of 30 days after a final rule takes effect or 180 days after enactment, and for new tools at least 96 hours before implementation; (3) annually to workers who performed work in the prior year; (4) in the worker's primary language; and (5) within 5 business days of a worker or applicant request. This section further requires providers using such tools or systems for work-related decisions substantially impacting a worker's compensation, work assignments, or platform access to provide comprehensive notices describing data and attributes used, automated decision system inputs and weights, outputs for that decision, and the range of possible outputs.
This section imposes accountability requirements on covered digital labor platform providers, including (1) capping the take rate at 25% for consumer on-demand transportation services and limiting any related fees such that the ratio of consumer payments not provided to app-based workers (exclusive of tips) to total consumer payments plus the fee does not exceed 25%; (2) requiring an opportunity for app-based workers to voluntarily disclose demographic data, subject to privacy-protecting regulations by the Secretary in consultation with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; (3) prohibiting compensation offers that differ for substantially similar work unless based on cost differentials between workers or required by a collective bargaining agreement, and restricting use of individualized worker data or automated systems in compensation decisions unless similarly justified, with an exception for providers that do not set pay rates or consumer charges; (4) prohibiting use of electronic monitoring, automated systems, or worker data to infer sensitive characteristics (e.g., immigration status, political opinion, disability, health, sexual orientation, union activity) and limiting data collection to time worked; and (5) prohibiting platform interfaces that unfairly, covertly, or deceptively obscure or delay access to compensation information, including bonuses.
This section requires a covered digital labor platform provider and its vendors to (1) retain for four years contemporaneous records of app-based worker data collected using an electronic monitoring tool or used as an automated decision system input; (2) refrain from selling, transferring, or disclosing such data to any other entity 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 Secretary regulations. It 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, pursuant to regulations, to designate in writing an authorized agent to receive specified notices and disclosures from a covered digital labor platform provider (i.e., those required under paragraphs (1), (2), (4), and (5) of section 4(a) or section 6(b)) as if provided directly to the worker. The platform must furnish an additional copy of each such notice or disclosure to the agent when due to the worker and upon the agent's request submitted via a prominently displayed designated email address, with initial responses due within 10 business days and subsequent ones concurrent with delivery to the worker. The section further restricts the agent from using the worker's information except as authorized and requires the agent to notify the worker before disclosing such 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—including through intimidation, deactivation, reduced compensation or work assignments, or harassment—for exercising rights under this Act or engaging in protected activities (i.e., filing complaints of violations of sections 4, 5, or 6; participating in related inquiries or proceedings; or providing or preparing testimony). It establishes a rebuttable presumption that an adverse action against such a worker within 90 days of a protected activity violates these protections.
This section establishes Department of Labor (DOL) enforcement authority for the Act, including authority to (1) investigate by reviewing disclosures under section 4(c)(1), issuing public reports on compensation and hours, collecting data, inspecting records and sites, questioning app-based workers, and making joint information requests; (2) require additional annual or special reports from covered digital labor platform providers; (3) receive, investigate, and attempt to resolve app-based worker complaints of violations of sections 4, 5, 6, and 8 in the same manner as complaints under FLSA sections 6 (minimum wage, 29 U.S.C. 206) and 7 (overtime); (4) conduct public education on worker rights; (5) litigate via the Solicitor of Labor; and (6) refer evidence of criminal violations to the Attorney General. This section further establishes a private right of action in federal court, allowing app-based workers, consumers, their authorized agents, labor organizations, or worker centers to sue covered digital labor platform providers (or vendors, as applicable) for violations of specified provisions notwithstanding DOL action. Prevailing plaintiffs are entitled to statutory damages (e.g., not less than $20,000 per failure to provide timely notices under section 4(a)(1)-(3); $5,000 per untimely notice, per violation of section 4(a)(4)-(5) or 5(c), or per consumer notice violation; $1,000 per format violation under 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, the use of an electronic monitoring tool or automated decision system by a covered digital labor platform provider 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 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 under 5 U.S.C. §706 (i.e., Administrative Procedure Act standards such as arbitrary/capricious review) of the Secretary's interpretations of the Act in issuing regulations to determining only whether such interpretations reflect a reasonable or permissible construction of the Act. For actions seeking declaratory or injunctive relief challenging the constitutionality or lawfulness of such regulations, it (1) imposes a three-year statute of limitations from the regulation's promulgation date and (2) requires filing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
This section clarifies the Act's relation to other laws by (1) preserving state authority to enact 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 nondisclosure provisions in such contracts; and (5) prohibiting waiver of the Act's rights and remedies. The section further affirms that the Act does not exempt covered digital labor platform providers from Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requirements or limit FLSA investigative, recordkeeping, state collaboration, or homework regulation authorities.
This section prohibits construing the Act to require or justify a covered digital labor platform provider from altering any policy, procedure, or system in a manner that decreases, limits, or impedes an app-based worker's scheduling flexibility or access to work.
This section establishes a 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 applications to any other persons or circumstances remain unaffected.