Washington, DC—App-based workers from at least eight different states, members of Congress, and worker advocates gathered at the US Capitol to celebrate the introduction of the Empowering App-Based Workers Act by Representatives Pramila Jayapal (WA), Donald Norcross (NJ), and Ilhan Omar (MN) in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill aims to provide app-based workers with real transparency around their pay and work assignments, prevent companies from using personal data to set wages, and ensure app-based ridehail drivers receive at least 75 percent of each passenger fare.
Groups from as far away as California and Washington State joined the event, including members of ACE Collaborative/DMV Drivers Alliance (VA), Colorado Independent Drivers United, Connecticut Drivers United, Los Deliveristas Unidos (NY), Make the Road New Jersey, New York Taxi Workers Alliance, Rideshare Drivers United (CA), and the Washington Drivers Union.
Workers are making clear that tech giants shouldn’t be allowed to hide exploitation behind algorithms—and that it’s time for government to step in.
In a press conference in front of the Capitol, workers spoke about why they need more transparency and accountability from app-based corporations—who increasingly rely on opaque digital technologies to monitor and manage their workforces. These technologies function as hidden algorithmic “bosses” that influence everything from who gets work to how much they’re paid.
The bill calls for transparency from employers about how they’re using “bossware,” a term used to describe digital surveillance technologies and automated decision systems used by employers, to control workers and their work. If passed, the bill would require detailed pay statements for workers and itemized receipts for customers; enable workers to find out how companies make decisions about their pay, work assignments, and discipline; and guarantee ridehail drivers receive 75 percent of each passenger fare, among other changes.
In July 2025, a Senate version of the bill was introduced by Senators Brian Schatz (HI) and Chris Murphy (CT).
I work as an Amazon Flex driver, and this isn’t side income for me. I depend on this work to pay rent and feed my family. Amazon knows this, and they use it against us. They call us contractors to avoid paying fair wages or providing us with benefits, then they control every part of our jobs through their algorithm. I spend hours looking for shifts on the app, I work in unsafe conditions I have no control over, and I have to pay for my own gas and tolls out of pocket. Congress needs to fight back and hold these trillion-dollar corporations accountable.
“We’re excited to see Representatives Jayapal, Norcross, and Omar listening to app-based workers and introducing the Empowering App-Based Workers Act in the U.S. House of Representatives,” said Rebecca Dixon, president and CEO of the National Employment Law Project (NELP). “Corporations that use hidden algorithms to determine app-based workers’ pay, job assignments, and discipline must be held accountable. This bill will give workers the transparency they have been demanding for years and will help move us toward a good-jobs economy where all workers are treated fairly.”
“We do the majority of the work while Uber or Lyft are taking the majority of the share and their profits are soaring,” said Nupur Chowdhurry, a longtime Uber driver and organizer with ACE Collaborative. “This is a reminder: without drivers, no rideshare business can exist. We are the ones who do the hard work. That’s why organizations, supporters, and drivers are here today to fight.”
“Why was it that five years ago rideshare and delivery app drivers were celebrated as essential workers and heroes during the pandemic?” said Alex Johnson, organizer with Connecticut Drivers United (CDU). “We feel betrayed by the same companies that heralded us as heroes, now offering unlivable wages, deceptive algorithms, false promises of flexible independence, lack of transparency, and unsafe conditions. We have been demoted to third-class workers with no voice to demand fair treatment,” said Carlos Gomez founder of CDU. “Today we say enough, ¡ya! Connecticut Drivers United stands here at the Capitol with driver organizations from across the country, demanding the passage of The Empowering App-Based Workers Act, which would empower millions of drivers across the country with transparency, knowledge, and most importantly, 75% of the take rate! Drivers do 90% of the work, so we believe that we are being more than generous with these companies by asking for only 75% of the fare for 90% of the work,” said Elvis Carranza and Jesenia Rodriguez, organizers at CDU.
“Uber and Lyft drivers in Washington State have organized to win the strongest labor protections in the nation—including a rideshare minimum wage, just-cause deactivation protections, paid sick time, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, and paid family and medical leave,” said Peter Kuel, president of Drivers Union and a rideshare driver with more than 40,000 trips. “But across the country, rideshare drivers are still struggling—working for less than minimum wage, without benefits or union protections, even as Uber and Lyft overcharge passengers and take excessively high corporate fees. It’s time for rideshare fairness nationwide.”
“Uber and Lyft drivers have no guaranteed incomes, but have fixed expenses since they pay for their cars, gas, insurance, and repairs out of pocket while Uber and Lyft executives get rich from their labor,” said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the 28,000 Uber, Lyft and yellow cab members of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA). “Analyzing 50 million New York City Uber and Lyft trips, a UCLA report found that the companies pocketed an even larger share of passenger fares—giving a smaller percentage to the drivers—in 2022 than in 2019. Uber and Lyft’s highest average commissions were during the worst of the COVID-19, when drivers were on the frontlines of the pandemic. These exploitative companies also increased passenger fares significantly more than they increased driver pay after NYTWA fought for and won the nation’s first minimum pay standard for app drivers. Their greed knows no bounds and their practices prove that the fares passengers pay have little connection with how much drivers actually get paid, refuting the companies’ claims that increased driver pay means increased fares for passengers. Meanwhile, they have spent millions on lobbying to stop local regulations even though drivers provide services across state lines. We need national standards that form the floor for driver incomes with local authority to raise the ceiling and effectively enforce. It’s time to regulate these greedy companies and cap their commission rates to ensure that drivers can earn livable incomes”
“The Empowering App-Based Workers Act strikes at the real source of power in the gig economy: the platform algorithms that determine who gets work, what they are paid, and who gets unfairly deactivated,” said Ligia Guallpa, executive director of Worker’s Justice Project and co-founder of its Los Deliveristas Unidos campaign. “For the first time, this bill would give workers access to their own data, protect them from abusive algorithmic practices, establish equal pay for equal work, and force major gig companies to reveal their hidden business model—fundamentally shifting power back to the people who keep the industry running. What’s at stake is nothing less than democratic control over algorithmic power: whether workers will continue being managed by opaque, unaccountable systems, or whether they will gain the information, rights, and collective leverage needed to transform their industry. We applaud and strongly support this effort, and we are grateful to NELP for their leadership in ensuring gig workers across the country get the transparency and fairness they deserve.”
“I work as an Amazon Flex driver, and this isn’t side income for me. I depend on this work to pay rent and feed my family. Amazon knows this, and they use it against us. They call us contractors to avoid paying fair wages or providing us with benefits, then they control every part of our jobs through their algorithm. I spend hours looking for shifts on the app, I work in unsafe conditions I have no control over, and I have to pay for my own gas and tolls out of pocket. Congress needs to fight back and hold these trillion-dollar corporations accountable. Our work got them their profits, and we deserve the same protections as any other worker,” said a Make the Road NJ member and Amazon flex driver.
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The National Employment Law Project is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts research and advocates on issues affecting underpaid and unemployed workers. NELP is the leading national nonprofit working at the federal, state, and local levels to create a good-jobs economy. Learn more at www.nelp.org.
