Uber and Instacart challenged Seattle’s App-Based Worker Deactivation Rights Ordinance, but they did not get it put on hold. A federal judge denied emergency relief on December 31, 2024, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed that denial on March 4, 2026. Ordinance 126878 took effect January 1, 2025, and remains in force, although Seattle’s Office of Labor Standards (OLS) says its authority to investigate whether a deactivation reason was substantively permissible is delayed until June 1, 2027.
What Uber actually sued over
The case concerns Seattle Ordinance 126878, codified principally in Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 8.40 and titled the App-Based Worker Deactivation Rights Ordinance. It regulates when and how covered “network companies” suspend or permanently remove app-based workers, including delivery couriers.
Uber Technologies Inc. and subsidiary Portier LLC sued the City of Seattle in December 2024. Maplebear Inc., Instacart’s corporate parent, later joined as an intervening plaintiff. The companies challenged restrictions and procedural duties surrounding deactivation—not a general law governing every Uber driver or ordinary rideshare work. The original complaint’s claims about contracts, reputation and platform control were Uber’s allegations, not findings by the court.
Seattle enacted the ordinance on August 14, 2023. It became effective January 1, 2025. The Ninth Circuit’s description of the ordinance and the appellate ruling are in its March 4, 2026 opinion.
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Which workers and platforms are covered?
Coverage is narrower than the phrase “Uber driver” suggests. The rules address covered app-based work, particularly delivery, rather than automatically applying to every person who drives for Uber.
Seattle work-history test
Uber’s Seattle guidance and OLS guidance describe coverage for a worker who completed at least 25% of trips in Seattle during the preceding 180 days.
Seattle-incident test
A worker may also be covered when the incident that led to deactivation occurred in Seattle, even if the worker’s overall Seattle trip percentage is lower. The published guidance is available from Uber and the Seattle Office of Labor Standards.
The Ninth Circuit noted that the ordinance excludes certain categories, including rideshare drivers. It therefore should not be described as a blanket rule for all Uber transportation services.
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Written, specific policies
A covered network company must provide a written deactivation policy identifying conduct that can lead to removal. The policy must be specific enough for workers to understand what violates it and how to avoid violations, and the stated grounds must be reasonably related to safe and efficient operations.
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Notice, evidence and records
Platforms generally must follow specified procedures before deactivation, explain the basis for the decision and provide or preserve records relied on to substantiate it. Uber says its supporting records will be retained for at least three years.
Internal challenges and retaliation protection
The company must maintain an internal process through which a worker can challenge a deactivation. Retaliation for asserting rights under the ordinance is prohibited. The law does not guarantee that a worker can never be removed; it regulates the grounds and process for covered decisions.
Restrictions on certain performance-based removals
Worker-facing guidance identifies restrictions on deactivations based on hours worked, offer acceptance or cancellations when those actions have a legally recognized cause. The exact application depends on the facts and the platform’s policy.
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Does every deactivation require 14 days’ notice?
No. Uber’s Seattle guidance says couriers generally receive 14 days’ notice for a deactivation that does not involve egregious misconduct and is not required by law or court order. Egregious-misconduct cases may take effect immediately, although Uber says it must conduct a follow-up investigation. Background-check requirements, court orders and other legal obligations can create separate exceptions.
Temporary suspension and permanent deactivation are not identical. A short-term account restriction should not automatically be treated as a deactivation governed by every deactivation provision.
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How a Seattle courier can challenge a deactivation
- Read the notice. Save the stated reason, effective date and any messages in the app or by email.
- Use the platform’s internal process. Submit the challenge through the company’s designated deactivation appeal channel.
- Meet the deadline. The published guidance generally gives a worker 90 days after receiving the notice to appeal.
- Preserve evidence. Keep trip history, delivery records, photographs, customer or merchant messages, location information and any documents that address the stated reason.
- Request supporting records. Ask for the information the company relied on, where the platform’s process permits or requires that request.
- Track the response. Uber says appeals are reviewed within 14 days and that its response should include supporting evidence or a reinstatement decision.
- Consider further legal action. OLS says the worker generally must complete the internal challenge first. Its guidance describes a private right of action that may be available after the company responds or after 14 days have passed since the appeal was submitted.
Workers can review Seattle’s intake and enforcement information at the OLS deactivation page. Keep copies of every submission and confirmation.
Why Uber and Instacart objected
The companies’ principal arguments had two constitutional components.
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First Amendment and compelled speech
Uber and Instacart argued that requiring platforms to formulate and communicate detailed deactivation policies compelled speech and interfered with their ability to decide whom they would permit to use their services.
Vagueness
They also argued that standards such as conduct reasonably related to safe and efficient operations were too unclear to tell a company what deactivation grounds were lawful.
Business and contractual concerns
The companies further objected to limits on platform discretion and to requirements to retain or disclose information supporting deactivation decisions. Those positions describe the plaintiffs’ claims; they are not findings that the ordinance unlawfully interferes with contracts or business judgment.
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What the courts have decided
| Date | Event | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| August 14, 2023 | Seattle enacted Ordinance 126878. | The deactivation-rights law was adopted. |
| December 2024 | Uber and Portier sued; Maplebear/Instacart joined. | The companies sought to block the ordinance. |
| December 31, 2024 | Judge Marsha J. Pechman denied a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. | The law was not stopped before its effective date. See the district-court order. |
| January 1, 2025 | The ordinance took effect. | Covered platforms had to comply with its operative requirements. |
| March 4, 2026 | The Ninth Circuit affirmed denial of a preliminary injunction. | The appellate court rejected the companies’ request for preliminary relief. See the opinion. |
| June 1, 2027 | OLS’s stated date for substantive enforcement authority. | Under current OLS guidance, investigation of whether the underlying reason was permissible is scheduled to begin then. |
The Ninth Circuit’s reasoning
For preliminary-injunction purposes, the panel held that the ordinance principally regulates the conduct of deactivating worker accounts rather than protected expressive activity. It added that, even if some speech is regulated, the communications are commercial speech subject to less demanding review. The panel also held that the ordinance gives adequate notice about permissible deactivation grounds and is not unconstitutionally vague.
The ruling means Uber and Instacart did not show a likelihood of success sufficient to obtain preliminary relief. It does not automatically resolve every claim on the merits, and it should not be reported as proof that the entire lawsuit has ended. Later docket activity, a settlement or a final judgment could change that status; the federal docket is available at 2:24-cv-02103.
What OLS can enforce now—and what it cannot
OLS says that from January 1, 2025 through May 31, 2027, it can enforce specified procedural requirements but cannot investigate whether the company’s underlying reason for deactivation was permissible. Its guidance identifies June 1, 2027 as the start date for that substantive enforcement.
This delay does not eliminate all remedies. The ordinance includes a private right of action, and OLS says a worker may be able to sue after using the platform’s internal process. A procedural violation can therefore matter even during the interim, while OLS’s ability to decide the substantive justification remains limited.
What the law means in practice
For workers
- You may receive clearer rules, notice, evidence and an appeal route before losing access to delivery work.
- Coverage depends on Seattle work history or the location of the incident.
- Immediate action can still be allowed for egregious misconduct or legally required restrictions.
- A successful challenge to procedure does not create permanent immunity from a later, properly conducted deactivation.
- The 90-day appeal period makes prompt action important.
For platforms
- Policies must be accessible and sufficiently specific.
- Deactivation grounds must be tied to safe and efficient operations.
- Companies must provide notices, preserve supporting documentation and operate an internal challenge process.
- Those duties can make removals slower and more expensive, particularly in safety, fraud or quality cases.
For Seattle businesses and policymakers
The dispute tests how much authority a city can exercise over nationally operating platforms without changing couriers’ employment status. The ordinance addresses access to a platform and the process for losing that access; it does not, by itself, classify couriers as employees.
What early implementation shows
In a March 2026 announcement, Seattle reported that 249 workers had sought information through OLS intake channels, that staff had helped more than 30 workers get reactivated, and that companies had been required to rerun the correct deactivation process in more than 20 instances. These are figures reported by the city, not an independent audit of all deactivations or the law’s overall effect. Seattle’s explanation of the appellate ruling is available here.
The bottom line for a Seattle delivery courier
Seattle’s deactivation law remains operative after Uber and Instacart failed to obtain a preliminary injunction and the Ninth Circuit affirmed on March 4, 2026. If you are covered, save the notice, appeal within 90 days, request the supporting records and document every step. The law can require a fairer process without guaranteeing continued access to an app, and the current OLS timetable means substantive city enforcement is not scheduled until June 1, 2027.
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