The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a landmark ruling extending Americans with Disabilities Act protections to gig economy workers who are classified as independent contractors. The decision, which creates a circuit split with the Fifth Circuit, holds that platforms exercising significant control over the manner and means of work performance cannot use independent contractor classification as a shield against ADA obligations.
The case was brought by a delivery driver for a major food delivery platform who alleged that the company's app-based dispatch algorithm systematically disadvantaged drivers with mobility impairments by assigning delivery routes with excessive walking distances and stairs without providing an accommodation request mechanism. The platform argued that as an independent contractor, the driver fell outside the ADA's employment provisions.
The three-judge panel rejected that argument, finding that the platform's algorithmic control over virtually every aspect of the delivery process created an employment relationship sufficient to trigger ADA coverage. Disability rights organizations have hailed the ruling as a critical step toward ensuring that the gig economy does not become a loophole for disability discrimination. The case is widely expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court, given the existing circuit split on the issue.
