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Instacart Joined Uber’s Challenge to Seattle’s Deactivation Law. What Happened Next?

Instacart joined Uber’s challenge to Seattle’s delivery-worker deactivation ordinance. The Ninth Circuit declined to block the law while the lawsuit continues.
From TheFinanceBase Team3 min to read
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Instacart joined Uber’s lawsuit challenging Seattle’s App-Based Worker Deactivation Rights Ordinance, but the companies did not win an appellate injunction. On March 4, 2026, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of their request for preliminary relief. That ruling addressed whether the ordinance should be blocked while the case proceeded; it did not finally dispose of every claim in the district-court lawsuit.

Who sued Seattle, and what law did they challenge?

Uber Technologies, Inc. and its subsidiary Portier, LLC sued Seattle in December 2024. Maplebear Inc., the corporate entity that does business as Instacart, later intervened as a plaintiff and took part in the appeals. The case concerns Seattle’s App-Based Worker Deactivation Rights Ordinance, enacted as Ordinance 126878 in 2023 and codified in Seattle Municipal Code chapter 8.40. Ninth Circuit opinion Case record

This is a challenge to a Seattle municipal law, not a statewide rule governing every driver who uses an app. The provisions addressed in the appeal concern delivery work. The ordinance does not cover some other app-based worker categories, including rideshare drivers. Ninth Circuit opinion

What does Seattle’s deactivation ordinance require?

The ordinance requires covered network companies to provide written deactivation policies that are reasonably related to safe and efficient operations. It also restricts specified unwarranted deactivations and provides procedural protections, including a way for workers to contest a deactivation and access supporting records. Seattle’s official ordinance information describes the worker-facing notice and process requirements.

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The Ninth Circuit discussed examples of policies the ordinance identifies as unreasonable, including deactivation based solely on aggregate customer-rating metrics, subject to the ordinance’s wording and exceptions. That is not a blanket ban on considering customer feedback, background checks or safety concerns. Ninth Circuit opinion

Why did Uber and Instacart challenge the law?

The companies argued that requiring written deactivation policies compelled speech in violation of the First Amendment and that the ordinance was unconstitutionally vague. The dispute therefore centered on how Seattle may regulate covered companies’ account-deactivation practices and whether the law gives them adequate notice of what it requires—not on a final ruling that all deactivations are unlawful. Ninth Circuit opinion

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What did the Ninth Circuit decide in March 2026?

In an opinion filed March 4, 2026, a Ninth Circuit panel affirmed the district court’s denial of Uber’s and Instacart’s request for a preliminary injunction. Writing for the panel, Judge Richard R. Clifton stated, “The Ordinance regulates conduct, not speech.” The panel treated the law as regulating nonexpressive conduct—the unwarranted deactivation of worker accounts—and concluded that the challenged requirements were not unconstitutionally vague. It also provided an alternative analysis under commercial-speech principles. Judge Mark J. Bennett partially dissented. Ninth Circuit opinion

A preliminary injunction is a request to pause enforcement while litigation continues. The appellate ruling means the companies did not obtain that interim relief; it is not a final judgment resolving every claim in the underlying case.

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Has the lawsuit ended?

Not on the basis of the March 2026 ruling. A secondary docket listing indicates that district-court proceedings had been stayed pending final resolution of the appeals and records an appellate order entry dated April 27, 2026. That listing does not establish the full district-court status after the appellate mandate. The available record therefore does not support saying that the case has ended or that the district court has entered a final judgment. Docket listing Case status record

What has Seattle reported about enforcement?

In a March 6, 2026 release, the City of Seattle said that, since enforcement began in January 2025, 249 workers had sought information about the law. The city also said staff had helped more than 30 workers get reactivated and required companies to rerun the correct deactivation process in more than 20 instances. These are figures and characterizations reported by the city, not findings in the Ninth Circuit opinion. City of Seattle release

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Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans said in that release, “Here in Seattle, we will always fight to protect workers.” The statement reflects the city’s policy position; it is separate from the court’s legal analysis. City of Seattle release

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What the decision means for workers and platforms

The ruling leaves the challenged ordinance in place while the litigation continues, rather than deciding the full merits of every claim. For workers covered by the law, Seattle describes written-policy and procedural protections around deactivation. For delivery platforms covered by the ordinance, the appellate decision rejects the companies’ effort to block the challenged requirements through a preliminary injunction. The ruling should not be read as applying Seattle’s ordinance to excluded categories such as rideshare drivers.

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For broader context, the Ninth Circuit opinion cites a Pew Research Center report from December 2021 stating that 16 percent of U.S. adults had earned money through an online gig platform as of 2021. That national figure is not Seattle-specific and does not measure how many workers the ordinance covers. Ninth Circuit opinion

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