CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to app-based worker labor standards; establishing labor standards on
deactivation protections for app-based workers working in Seattle; amending Section 3.02.125 of the Seattle Municipal Code; and adding a new Chapter 8.40 to the Seattle Municipal Code.
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WHEREAS, the Washington Constitution provides in Article XI, Section 11 that "[a]ny county, city, town or township may make and enforce within its limits all such local police, sanitary and other regulations as are not in conflict with general laws"; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The City Council ("Council") finds and declares that:
A. App-based work is a growing source of income for workers in Seattle and across the country.
B. In the exercise of The City of Seattle's police powers, the City is granted authority to pass regulations designed to protect and promote public health, safety, and welfare.
C. This ordinance protects and promotes public health, safety, and welfare by establishing protections against unwarranted
deactivations for app-based workers.
D. Many Seattle workers, including app-based workers, cannot fully participate in the community's dynamic civic life or pursue its myriad educational, cultural, and recreational opportunities because they struggle to meet their households' most basic needs, suffering job insecurity and economic instability.
E. Minimum labor standards benefit employers and hiring entities by improving worker performance, reducing worker turnover, and thereby improving productivity and the quality of the services provided by workers, including app-based workers.
F. Network companies typically manage large pools of app-based workers by relying on algorithmic management systems, which allow app-based workers to be "assigned, optimized, and evaluated through algorithms and tracked data....
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