Empowering App-Based Workers Act
Sponsored By: Representative Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7]
Introduced
Summary
Transparency and accountability for app-based workers. This bill would create rules forcing platforms to explain how electronic monitoring and automated decision systems affect pay, assignments, and access to work, and to limit exploitative platform fees.
Show full summary
- App-based workers would get machine-readable notices about monitoring and automated decision systems, weekly itemized pay statements showing tips, take rates, time on task, and individual data. Platforms must retain worker data for four years, provide requested data within five business days, and may not sell worker data except to an authorized agent or when required by law. Workers would also gain whistleblower protections and the right to designate authorized agents.
- Consumers would see per-assignment financial disclosures that include the platform take rate and itemized transaction details so riders and buyers know how much reaches the worker.
- On-demand ride-hail services would face a 25 percent take-rate cap and limits on worker fees. The bill would bar discriminatory or manipulative algorithmic wage-setting and use of sensitive personal data in pay decisions, require quarterly reporting of aggregated and demographic data to the Secretary of Labor, and create civil penalties, private damages rights, and joint liability for providers and vendors.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Enforcement, lawsuits, and whistleblower rules
If enacted, workers, consumers, authorized agents, and labor groups could sue platforms for violations of the bill. Courts would award statutory minimum damages (for example, listed minima such as $20,000 for certain notice or reporting failures, $5,000 for some pay-statement errors, and $25,000 for whistleblower violations) plus actual damages, liquidated damages, fees, and injunctive relief. For take-rate breaches, damages would be four times the shortfall times the assignment amount or $20,000 per violation, whichever is larger. The Secretary of Labor would also get investigatory and enforcement powers, including inspections, information requests, requiring reports, and referring potential crimes to the Attorney General.
Cap fees and show pay details
If enacted, platforms that offer on-demand rides would be limited to taking no more than 25% of a consumer payment (tips not counted). You would get an itemized end-of-assignment receipt that shows fare (ex-tip), tip, worker pay (ex-tip), the assignment take rate, time, distance, and bonus ties. Platforms would send weekly, machine-readable pay statements with totals, hours, miles, and average take rate. Platforms would also file quarterly reports with the Secretary and publish anonymized, machine-readable platform data; the Secretary would publish the prior year's data by February 15.
Protect worker data and pay fairness
If enacted, platforms that use electronic monitoring or automated decision systems would have to give workers and applicants clear notices about monitoring and algorithm use. Platforms would keep monitoring and ADS data for four years and generally provide worker-requested preserved data within five business days. Platforms would be barred from using or selling monitored data except when a worker requests it or when required by law, and they could not use sensitive attributes to set pay. The bill would also bar paying different workers different amounts for substantially similar tasks unless based on demonstrable cost differences or a collective bargaining agreement.
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Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7]
WA • D
Cosponsors
Rep. Norcross, Donald [D-NJ-1]
NJ • D
Sponsored 12/11/2025
Rep. Omar, Ilhan [D-MN-5]
MN • D
Sponsored 12/11/2025
Goldman (TX)
TX • R
Sponsored 12/11/2025
Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12]
PA • D
Sponsored 12/11/2025
Rep. McIver, LaMonica [D-NJ-10]
NJ • D
Sponsored 12/11/2025
Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
DC • D
Sponsored 12/11/2025
Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2]
WI • D
Sponsored 12/11/2025
Rep. Takano, Mark [D-CA-39]
CA • D
Sponsored 12/11/2025
Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12]
MI • D
Sponsored 12/11/2025
Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28]
CA • D
Sponsored 12/23/2025
Rep. Goldman, Daniel S. [D-NY-10]
NY • D
Sponsored 1/9/2026
Rep. Bonamici, Suzanne [D-OR-1]
OR • D
Sponsored 2/23/2026
Rep. Adams, Alma S. [D-NC-12]
NC • D
Sponsored 2/23/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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