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DENVER, CO - The House today advanced legislation sponsored by Representatives Stephanie Vigil and Javier Mabrey on a preliminary vote that would improve protections for gig workers by increasing wage and task transparency.
“Delivery apps have made big promises to Coloradans, including flexibility for workers and more choices for consumers. But too often hidden algorithms interfere with the worker autonomy that drivers in this industry so highly value,” said Rep. Stephanie Vigil, D-Colorado Springs. “From misleading incentives to faulty tip information, big tech can use deceptive practices to pressure drivers to take low-paying offers, rather than paying what they're worth. This legislation would improve transparency and fairness in Colorado law to provide drivers with the information they need and deserve to make free and informed decisions about their work.”
"App-based employment should not be excluded from the important protections that the labor movement has fought for to ensure the health and safety of Colorado workers," said Rep. Javier Mabrey, D-Denver. "Over 60 percent of Denver delivery app drivers rely on gig work for their main source of income. Our bill will provide wage transparency to workers, ensure that they receive all tips paid by consumers, establish a fair reactivation process and improve safety on the job.”
HB24-1129 aims to improve wage and task transparency by requiring specific information to be shared with gig workers of delivery network companies (DNCs), providing workers with the ability to make more informed decisions about which tasks to accept.
When a consumer is prompted to leave a tip for a delivery driver who is paid based on a per-delivery-task or per-transaction basis, DNCs would be required to disclose the amount of money that the consumer paid or will pay for the transaction and how much the driver received or will receive for the transaction. It would also require the DNC to pay the entire tip to the driver.
Before a driver who is paid based on a per-delivery-task or per-transaction basis accepts a delivery task, DNCs would be required to disclose to the driver:
An estimated or actual amount the driver will earn for the task, including the tip or reimbursement amounts,
The number of transactions involved in the task,
The address(es) of the food, beverages, or other goods must be picked up from,
The direction from where the driver is required to pick up the goods and the location where goods must be delivered,
The estimated or actual time it will take for the driver to complete the task, and
The estimated or actual distance the driver will travel for the task.
If a driver is paid for a block of time for multiple deliveries, DNCs would be required to disclose the following before the driver accepts a task:
The minimum amount the DNC will pay the driver for completing deliveries during the specific block of time,
The direction from where the driver is located and where the driver must pick up and deliver the products,
The estimated or actual distance required to travel to complete the deliveries,
Clear information on which products need to be delivered within specific time windows, and
The number of items required to be delivered.
The bill would also require DNCs to share data with the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics about driver payments and deactivations, delivery tasks, and other information that will be made publicly available.
The bill also requires a DNC to develop and maintain an account deactivation policy that clearly establishes procedures for deactivating a driver from the platform, allows a driver to request a reconsideration and ensures a driver is not penalized for failing to respond to a delivery task offer.
A 2022 report about Denver gig workers found that most gig workers earn $5.49 per hour after expenses. Denver’s 2022 minimum wage was $15.87. The report also found that DoorDash drivers only made $1.23 per hour, and none of the surveyed platforms had hourly wages that surpassed $9.