Massachusetts Court Blocks Gig-Worker Ballot Measure

The top court in Massachusetts blocked a ballot measure Tuesday that would have asked voters to classify gig workers as independent contractors rather than employees, saying the measure overreached by limiting gig companies’ liability in some situations.

The decision is a setback for companies such as Uber Technologies and Lyft that rely on such workers. After a decade of robust growth, ride-share and food-delivery companies have spent recent years reckoning with efforts by policy makers and labor advocates to reclassify drivers as employees—entitled to benefits such as a minimum wage, paid sick leave and unemployment assistance.