Lyft is suspending service in California

(Image credit: ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

last updated 20 August 2020

Lyft is hitting the brakes in California.

The company has announced it's suspending its rideshare operations in California effective at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday after a judge recently ordered it to classify its drivers as employees rather than independent contractors.

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Lyft, along with its competitor Uber, have both faced scrutiny in recent years for the way they classify drivers as independent contractors, and the companies were hit with a lawsuit in California accusing them of violating the state's Assembly Bill 5 law. This law states that workers should be considered employees of a company if their performance is part of the company's "usual course" of business and is under its control and direction.

In its announcement on Thursday, Lyft argues classifying its drivers as employees and not independent contractors would lead to "reduced service" and to 80 percent of its drivers losing work. Judge Ethan Schulman ruled last week that there's an "overwhelming likelihood" the companies have been misclassifying their drivers. This decision also applied to Uber, which has similarly threatened to suspend service in California.

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

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