(The Center Square) – A proposed bill to amend Seattle’s App-Based Worker Minimum Payment Ordinance has been passed out of a council committee and now faces one more round of voting.
Council Bill 120775 would remove minimum wage adjustments, reduce the per-mile rate, and remove the mileage factor from the current minimum wage law, resulting in a minimum payment standard of $19.97 per hour, along with 35 cents per mile for engaged time while driving. Tips would not be included in the minimum payment.
The bill would not repeal the minimum wage for gig workers, which is set at a guaranteed gross minimum wage of $19.97 per hour. The original “PayUp” ordinance set the minimum wage for delivery drivers at $26.40 per hour without the inclusion of tips.
The current ordinance requires a minimum network company payment of 44 cents per minute and 74 cents per mile for time spent and miles traveled.
Council Bill 120775 was approved by the Governance, Accountability, and Economic Development Committee with four votes in favor and one abstention.
The bill is sponsored by Seattle City Councilmember Sara Nelson.
“This law is clearly not working,” Nelson said at Thursday’s committee meeting. “Council Bill 120775 is an effort to reverse the bad outcomes caused by a flawed law and catalyzed by network companies imposing a new so-called regulatory fee, which caused a drop in customer orders.”
Nelson is referring to regulatory fees that app-based delivery services enforced following the law being enacted on Jan. 13. This has caused the cost of orders to increase significantly, and in turn, drop the number of orders placed with these services.
The Center Square previously reported on data from DoorDash also revealed that in a six-week period after the law took effect earlier this year, city retailers have earned roughly $7 million less than expected.
Drivers spoke for and against the proposed changes spoke during Thursday’s public comment period for over an hour and a half.
The bill will be up for a final city council vote on May 28.
