Uber vows to keep fighting sweeping California labor bill

California lawmakers confronting the changing definition of work have approved sweeping legislation designed to give many contract workers new pay and benefit protections, but tech giants Uber and Lyft vowed to keep fighting the changes, possibly by bankrolling an expensive fight on the 2020 ballot.

The measure heading to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom outlines a three-part test that makes it harder for companies to classify workers as independent contractors who aren’t entitled to minimum wage and benefits like workers compensation.

Uber has argued that forcing its drivers to become employees would upend a business model that is built on flexibility.

Newsom has pledged to sign the measure, but his office hopes to bring ride-hailing and meal delivery companies to the table with labor unions to negotiate a separate set of rules for workers who pick up jobs on their own schedules in the so-called gig economy.