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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, December 18, 2025
Contact:
Eliza Bates, 646.285.8491, Media@nytwa.org
VICTORY FOR NYC UBER & LYFT DRIVERS: NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL PASSES JUST CAUSE BILL, INTRO 276
NEW YORK– On Thursday, December 18th, 2025 the New York City Council passed Intro 276, which provides Uber and Lyft drivers with just cause protections.
NYTWA Executive Director Bhairavi Desai released the following statement:
Intro 276 sets the strongest standard for just cause protections for Uber and Lyft drivers in the country.
With this bill, we are asserting a simple truth: drivers have rights. This bill is about due process, but fundamentally it is also about the basic dignity every worker deserves.
The passage of Intro 276 means that drivers, who go into debt just to work, will no longer have to worry about going to sleep after a grueling day on the road only to wake and find they have been unfairly deactivated, left with no income overnight at the click of a button.
Today’s victory shows once again that NYTWA members are an unstoppable force. Time and again, New York City Uber and Lyft drivers have fought against some of the richest giglords on the planet armed only with the strength of a righteous cause and the power of worker solidarity. And time and again, we’ve won: from the first minimum pay standard to the first regulations capping FHV licenses to stop Uber and Lyft from over saturating our streets and driving down incomes. Now, after a three-year fight with dozens of rallies, caravans, and speak outs, New York City Uber and Lyft drivers have won lifesaving just cause protections.
Our victory would not have been possible without our bill’s champion, Council Member Shekar Krishnan. Today, we sent a message to Uber and Lyft: You may have the money, but we have the people. And with the people comes the power.
Drivers share the streets with deliveristas and street vendors. We share the same fight. And today we share the same victory with Los Deliveristas Unidos/Workers Justice Project and the Street Vendors Project whose bills also passed.
This is a historic day for the working class of New York City.
MORE ABOUT INTRO 276:
Intro 276 makes it unlawful for Uber and Lyft to fire drivers without just cause and, in non-egregious cases, without advance notice or progressive discipline. The bill:
- Puts burden of proof on Uber & Lyft in deactivation cases - not on the drivers.
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Uber & Lyft must follow standard for just cause if they are going to deactivate drivers.
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Requires companies to give drivers 14 days notice before deactivation is in effect, except in cases of egregious misconduct.
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Drivers will have an independent appeal process: through arbitration, going to court, working with the city agency to file a complaint, or even using the current company-run appeal process should they choose. Drivers can choose what works best for them.
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Uber & Lyft must engage in "progressive discipline" except in cases of egregious misconduct, meaning the serious punishment of a deactivation must fit the violation and drivers must have been made aware of behavior which the companies consider to be a violation
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Allows drivers to get reinstatement and backpay (lost earnings for the time they were deactivated) if deactivated without good cause
- Drivers deactivated over the past 6 years from the date the bill goes into effect would have one year to independently appeal their cases.
- Allows companies to immediately deactivate drivers based on egregious misconduct: If the basis for the deactivation is egregious misconduct, the companies can deactivate immediately and do not need to show progressive discipline or prior warnings.
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