Seattle’s law regulating when delivery drivers may be deactivated from platforms such as Uber and Instacart will remain in place after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the companies’ assertions it infringed on their First Amendment rights and was overly vague.

The split ruling from the three-judge panel likely means the law is here to stay. The companies brought their case in late 2024, just before it was scheduled to take effect in early 2025. They appealed after a lower court judge rejected their arguments.

Passed in 2023 as a part of a broader effort by the Seattle City Council to regulate the so-called gig economy, the law requires companies to write a “reasonable” policy for when and why drivers can be deactivated. Except in egregious circumstances, companies are not allowed to remove drivers for certain behaviors the city views as not directly related to safety, including falling below a certain number of hours, rejecting too many offers, past driving record and background checks.

The law also requires companies to provide drivers with advanced notice of being deactivated and more opportunities to appeal the decision.

The rules were a reaction to stories the council heard from drivers and labor organizations of people being removed from the platform without understanding why and essentially losing their employment.

The companies strongly objected to the new regulations, saying driving records and background checks were, in fact, related to safety and limited their ability to prevent dangerous interactions between drivers and customers.

In court, the companies contended their First Amendment rights were being violated because they were being forced to write a policy they did not agree with. Additionally, they argued, the requirement their policies be “reasonable” was overly vague.

The panel rejected this argument, saying the requirements did not preclude the companies from voicing their displeasure with the new law, both internally and externally.

“That is their right,” the opinion stated. “But it is not their right to disregard a valid economic regulation that targets neither speech nor expressive conduct that is protected by the First Amendment.”

The judges also rejected the contention that “reasonable” was an overly vague standard.

Everyone deserves clarity, transparency, integrity and due process from the companies that make money from their labor, and I’m glad the Ninth Circuit recognized Seattle’s legitimate right to require these apps to set clear rules around safe, efficient operations and tell their workforce what those policies are,” said Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans.

An Instacart spokesperson said, "We wholly disagree with this disappointing decision," saying the city's "onerous and rushed regulations are harmful for shoppers on the Instacart platform and for our customers.

The Seattle City Council swung away from its labor-backed focus on the gig economy in 2024 when two-thirds of the body turned over. Only current councilmembers Dan Strauss and Debora Juarez voted on the measure when it passed in 2023.

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