Mass. could pursue ‘large’ penalties from Uber and Lyft if it wins labor case

A 2020 lawsuit against Uber and Lyft is set to go to trial in mid-May.

If a Superior Court judge rules that Uber and Lyft have been violating Massachusetts labor laws, state prosecutors would pursue “quite large” retroactive penalties against the gig economy giants regardless of whether voters embrace a change to the legal framework at play, a top official said Tuesday.

A 2020 lawsuit filed by thenAttorney General Maura Healey against Uber and Lyft is set to go to trial in mid-May, less than six months before voters could decide a proposal that would define the companies’ drivers as independent contractors instead of employees.

As a legislative committee on Tuesday kicked off a public hearing on the industry-backed ballot question, the overlap between the lawsuit and the campaign was on their minds.

Representative Michael Day of Stoneham asked First Assistant Attorney General Pat Moore if the lawsuit would be “mooted” should voters approve the independent contractor question. Moore replied that he believes adoption of the industry-backed measure would only have a “prospective effect,” not change assessment of the existing law to this point.

“There are responsibilities when a company is an employer and when the drivers are employees. There are minimum compensation benefits, there are mileage reimbursement benefits, there are penalties attendant to not following those laws,” Moore said. “Should there be a declaration that the drivers are employees, those benefits should have accrued to the drivers going back as far as the law will allow us with attendant penalties. The numbers associated with those are quite large, and it will be the commonwealth’s intent, with the AG acting on its behalf, to recover those.”

“So yes, prospectively, the law would change if the voters desire for it to change,” he added. “Far be it from us to opine on that. But the backward-looking relief will still be there, and we will intend to seek it.”

A committee tasked with reviewing possible ballot questions heard testimony Tuesday on five versions of the independent contractor question as well as one question pushed by labor groups that would allow drivers to organize and collectively bargain.