Feb 12, 2020 - Economy & Business

California bill targets food delivery companies amid gig economy pressure

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

The California lawmaker behind the controversial law making it harder to classify workers as contractors has proposed a new bill to prevent food delivery companies from offering drop-offs from restaurants that have not signed up and requires they share customer data with restaurants that do sign up.

Why it matters: State governments are turning up the heat on gig economy companies.

The big picture: Like her new labor law, California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez's new bill would directly curtail a common practice among these companies.

  • In October, GrubHub told investors it would begin to provide delivery of meals from restaurants that have not signed up for its marketplace, a move it said became necessary to compete with rivals that already do this.

Details: The bill prohibits food delivery services from offering food unless a restaurant has signed up.

  • And for those who do sign up, they will be able to get data about customers, including their email addresses, telephone numbers, delivery addresses and history of orders from that restaurant.

Go deeper: The gig economy hits roadblocks from state-level regulators

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