Judge agrees Instacart’s employees have been misclassified

A San Diego judge granted a preliminary injunction against grocery delivery service Instacart for the company's alleged misclassification of workers.

"This landmark ruling makes clear that Instacart employees have been misclassified as independent contractors, resulting in their being denied worker protections to which they are entitled by state law," San Diego City Attorney Mara W. Elliott said in a statement Tuesday. "We invite Instacart to work with us to craft a meaningful and fair solution."

Instacart and its parent company, Maplebear Inc., argued classifying its shoppers as employees would cause "irreparable harm" to the company, but Superior Court Judge Timothy B. Taylor rejected that claim, saying in an order issued last week precedent has already established the court's stance, citing the state Supreme Court's decision in Dynamex Operations West Inc. v. Superior Court.

"While there is room for debate on the wisdom of this policy, and while other states have chosen another course, it is noteworthy that all three branches of California have now spoken on this issue," Taylor wrote. "The Supreme Court announced Dynamex two years ago. The decision gave rise to a long debate in the legal press and in the Legislature. The Legislature passed AB 5 last fall. The Governor signed it. To put it in the vernacular, the handwriting is on the wall."

An Instacart spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday the company disagrees with the decision and will appeal. There is a 10-day stay on the order, which expires Friday, but the spokesperson said Instacart "will be taking steps to keep that stay in place during the appeals process, so that Instacart's service will not be disrupted in San Diego."

-- Nicole Tyau