S. 991·Middle School Intermediate
A Bill to Set Minimum Pay Floors for Rideshare Drivers
Sen. Garcia (D-NV)
Sets a federal minimum per-mile and per-minute earnings floor for app-based rideshare drivers.
Sec. 1 — Mandate
Rideshare platforms shall pay drivers no less than $1.10 per mile and $0.45 per minute of active trip time.
Sec. 2 — Exception
Platforms may apply for cost-of-living adjustments in rural markets.
Sec. 3 — Funding
$20 million for DOL enforcement.
Sec. 4 — Enforcement
Department of Labor wage-and-hour authority.
Tournament Prep
Mechanical parts, sourced & timed
Use this as your pre-round checklist. Memorize the source citation. Time yourself to the delivery target.
- Bill / Number
- S. 991 — A Bill to Set Minimum Pay Floors for Rideshare Drivers
- Funding source
- $20M for DOL enforcement.
- Timeline
- Effective at next DOL rulemaking cycle.
- Realistic — DOL already issues wage-and-hour rules.
- Enforcing agency
- Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division.
- Yes — FLSA enforcement structure exists.
- Penalty for non-compliance
- Back wages + civil penalties under FLSA §16.
- Source citation
- Berkeley Labor Center, Jacobs & Reich (2020), 'The Effects of a $15 Minimum Wage on Uber and Lyft Drivers' — laborcenter.berkeley.edu.
- Delivery time (read aloud)
- 1:00 (60s)
Strongest counter-argument
Pay floors raise rider prices and reduce driver hours overall.
Your pre-emptive answer
Berkeley (2020) and NY TLC (2022) both studied this — Seattle and NYC saw 1-3% price increases and *no* measurable drop in driver hours, because the platforms absorbed margin rather than lose market share.