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Posted: 2020-10-23T19:33:56Z | Updated: 2020-10-23T19:33:56Z

Uber and Lyft lost a court battle on Thursday and must classify their drivers in California as employees who are due benefits and labor protections.

Under the ruling by Californias court of appeals, the companies must comply within 30 days.

But in the Nov. 3 election, California voters will decide on Proposition 22 , which could exempt Uber, Lyft and others from the state law that mandates their drivers be employees, not contractors.

Californias AB5 law , which went into effect earlier this year, requires gig-economy companies to reclassify many of their workers as employees, rather than independent contractors. As employees, the car-service drivers are entitled to benefits and protections like a minimum wage, health insurance, overtime pay, sick leave and the right to form a union.

After Uber and Lyft refused to comply, California sued the companies in May. A lower court ruled against them in August, prompting the appeal that now has been rejected.

This is a victory for the people of California and for every driver who has been denied fair wages , paid sick days, and other benefits by these companies, said San Francisco city attorney Dennis Herrera, whose office was a plaintiff in the case. For too long Uber and Lyft have illegally denied their drivers basic workplace protections.

A Lyft spokesperson said this ruling made it more urgent than ever for their campaign to pass Prop. 22 which Lyft, Uber and others have put nearly $200 million behind. The company said there would be no change in operations for now, as they await the result of the vote.

Uber, which did not immediately respond to HuffPosts request for comment, told The New York Times it was considering our appeal options .

BIG NEWS: Today the California Appeals Court decided Uber and Lyft drivers must be classified as employees Under State Law. This is a victory for workers.

Here's our full statement.#VoteNoOnProp22 pic.twitter.com/Vn0SUTxDzl

Gig Workers Are Voting No On Prop 22 (@GigWorkersRise) October 23, 2020","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Gig Workers Are Voting No On Prop 22","author_url":"https://twitter.com/GigWorkersRise","cache_age":86400,"description":"BIG NEWS: Today the California Appeals Court decided Uber and Lyft drivers must be classified as employees Under State Law. 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BIG NEWS: Today the California Appeals Court decided Uber and Lyft drivers must be classified as employees Under State Law. This is a victory for workers.

Here's our full statement.#VoteNoOnProp22 pic.twitter.com/Vn0SUTxDzl

Gig Workers Are Voting No On Prop 22 (@GigWorkersRise) October 23, 2020

In Thursdays ruling, the appellate judges shut down Uber and Lyfts argument that they are tech companies and not transportation companies. Uber and Lyfts position that they are not in the transportation business is frivolous, the ruling read.

Uber and Lyft also argued that drivers are not their employees because the companies provide a service to them through their platform that connects them to riders. The appellate court also rejected that notion: The drivers provide the services necessary for defendants businesses to prosper.

Uber and Lyft have fought tooth and nail against AB5s requirements, given that converting drivers to employees with benefits would come with a hefty price tag.

Meanwhile, Uber and Lyft drivers have repeatedly protested including a nationwide strike last year in hopes of getting better pay and benefits.

After the August ruling that Uber and Lyft had to obey AB5 and classify their drivers as employees, the companies threatened to shut down operations in the state.

Gig Workers Rising, a group of ride-hailing drivers and other app-based workers who have been advocating for better working conditions, slammed the shutdown threat as leaving drivers for dead in the middle of a pandemic, with no safety net.

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Along with hundreds of thousands of drivers, millions of passengers who rely on their services would be affected if Uber and Lyft decide at some point to suspend services.

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