Empowering App-Based Workers Act
Sponsored By: Senator Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI]
Introduced
Summary
Transparency about monitoring and pay. The Empowering App-Based Workers Act would require app-based platforms to disclose how electronic monitoring tools and automated decision systems shape assignments, compensation, tips, and consumer pricing, and it limits ride-service platform take rates to 25 percent.
Show full summary
- App-based workers get plain-language notices and detailed pay data. Platforms must provide itemized assignment statements and weekly pay summaries, respond to data requests within five business days, and cannot infer sensitive attributes to set pay.
- Consumers and households get assignment-level pricing breakdowns that show total paid, tips, amounts sent to the worker, and the platform take rate so buyers see where their money goes.
- Platforms face strict data rules and oversight. They must retain monitoring and ADS records for four years, cannot sell worker data except in narrow cases, are subject to enforcement by the Secretary of Labor, and can be sued by workers, authorized agents, consumers, and labor organizations, with penalties deposited into a Treasury investigation fund.
Your PRIA Score
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Sign up for a PRIA Policy Scan to see your personalized alignment score for this bill and every other piece of legislation we track. We analyze your financial profile against policy provisions to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
6 provisions identified: 5 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Right to sue platforms for violations
If enacted, app-based workers, consumers, authorized agents, and labor groups could sue platforms for many violations. Plaintiffs could recover set statutory damages (for example, $20,000 for some notice or data preservation failures, $5,000 for certain pay-statement or algorithmic-pay violations, $2,000 for consumer notice failures, and $25,000 for whistleblower violations). For take-rate breaches, recoveries could be the greater of four times the difference or $20,000 per violation. Courts could also award actual and liquidated damages, attorney fees, and injunctive relief.
25% cap on platform take per ride
If enacted, platforms that provide on-demand rides could not take more than 25 percent of the consumer payment for each ride. Platforms also could not add fees on workers that, when combined with the fare, make the platform's share exceed 25 percent. The cap applies to each assignment and limits how platforms structure worker-facing fees.
Clear pay receipts and public platform data
If enacted, platforms would send an electronic receipt at the end of each assignment showing fare, tip, reimbursements, amount paid to the worker, take rate, miles, time, and bonus info. Platforms would also send a weekly pay statement with totals, an hourly pay metric, time worked, miles, and unpaid offers. Platforms must send quarterly anonymized data to the Secretary and publish machine-readable public data. The Secretary would publish prior-year data by February 15 each year.
Fair pay rules and worker protections
If enacted, platforms could not pay different amounts for substantially similar tasks unless differences reflect real cost differences or a collective bargaining agreement. Platforms would be barred from using individualized worker data in pay-setting ADS. The bill would also block confidentiality clauses and predispute arbitration or joint-action waivers. Platforms could not hide pay or bonus rules with deceptive screens. Workers would get anti-retaliation protection, with a 90-day rebuttable presumption of retaliation after protected activity.
Worker data access and notice rules
If enacted, platforms would have to tell applicants and workers in their primary language about tracking tools and automated decision systems. Platforms would keep monitoring and ADS records for four years and not sell worker monitoring data except to a worker's authorized agent or when law requires notice. Workers or their agents could request retained records and get them in about five business days. Notices and records must be machine-readable and kept accessible for at least 48 months.
Rulemaking, enforcement, and legal limits
If enacted, the Secretary of Labor would get strong inspection and enforcement powers and could issue rules within 180 days of enactment. The Department could require reports, interview workers, and refer criminal matters to the Attorney General. The Act would preserve state law protections and FLSA authority. It would also limit court review of agency rules to whether the agency's interpretation is reasonable and require challenges to be filed in D.C. within three years. The Act includes a severability rule.
Free Policy Watch
You just read the policy. Now see what it costs you.
Pick a topic. PRIA runs your household against live legislation and sends you a free personalized readout.
Pick a topic to get started
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI]
HI • D
Cosponsors
Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]
CT • D
Sponsored 7/28/2025
Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI]
WI • D
Sponsored 7/28/2025
Richard Blumenthal
CT • D
Sponsored 9/4/2025
Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT]
VT • I
Sponsored 2/10/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.govTake It Personal
Get Your Personalized Policy View
Take the PRIA Score to see how policy affects your household, then upgrade to PRIA Full Coverage for year-round monitoring.
Already have an account? Sign in