Prop 22 Earnings Guarantee: Hourly Floor, Mileage, and Reconciliation

The Prop 22 earnings guarantee requires every app-based rideshare and delivery platform in California to pay drivers at least 120 percent of the applicable minimum wage for their engaged working time, plus a per-mile reimbursement for vehicle costs. At the 2026 statewide minimum wage of $16.90 per hour, that produces a floor of $20.28 per hour of engaged time, with an added $0.37 for every engaged mile.¹² Tips are on top of that amount and never count toward the company’s obligation.

How the Hourly Floor Is Calculated

The guarantee lives in Business and Professions Code Section 7453, which obliges every platform to pay a “net earnings floor” of at least 120 percent of the minimum wage for all engaged time.³ The 20 percent premium above minimum wage is meant to partially offset benefits that employees get and independent contractors do not, like paid sick leave and unemployment insurance.

The dollar figure depends on where you pick up work. California has a statewide minimum wage and dozens of higher local minimums, and the Prop 22 floor tracks whichever applies to the trip. A driver working in West Hollywood, where the 2026 local minimum is $20.25, has a floor of $24.30 per engaged hour. A driver in San Francisco, with a $19.18 minimum, has a floor of $23.02. Statewide, it is $20.28.

Customer tips sit entirely outside this calculation. A platform cannot credit a tip against the 120 percent requirement, so a well-tipped shift never shrinks what the company itself owes.⁴ Promotional bonuses the platform pays, by contrast, do count toward its obligation.

What Counts as Engaged Time

Engaged time is narrower than the time you spend logged into an app. It starts when you accept a ride or delivery request and ends when you complete it: drop off the passenger, hand over the food, finish the delivery.⁴ The drive to pickup, the wait at the restaurant or merchant, and the trip to the drop-off all count.

Time spent waiting for a request to appear does not count, even if you are online and ready. You might be logged in for eight hours and accumulate only five or six hours of engaged time. The law also excludes time on a request after the customer cancels, and time on a request you abandon before completing.⁴

Platforms track engaged minutes automatically through the app, and you can usually see the totals on your earnings statement. Because every engaged minute feeds the floor calculation directly, it is worth comparing those logs against your own records, especially if you run a lot of short trips where small timing errors compound.

Per-Mile Reimbursement

On top of the hourly floor, the platform owes a per-mile payment for every engaged mile. This is added to the 120 percent figure, not folded into it. The rate began at $0.30 per mile when Prop 22 took effect in 2021 and is adjusted annually by the California State Treasurer based on the Consumer Price Index.³ For 2026 the rate is $0.37 per mile.²

Only engaged miles qualify. Driving across town to reach a busier zone, or heading home after your last drop-off, does not generate reimbursement. The platform measures the distance through GPS from acceptance to completion.

The Prop 22 rate sits well below the IRS standard business mileage rate of $0.725 per mile for 2026, which is designed to reflect the full cost of operating a vehicle, including depreciation, insurance, and repairs.⁵ The gap means the Prop 22 reimbursement probably covers only a portion of what your car actually costs you to run, though you can generally deduct remaining unreimbursed expenses on your federal return.

How Reconciliation Works

Platforms reconcile earnings at the end of each pay period, which the law caps at 14 consecutive calendar days.³ The company adds two figures together to produce your guaranteed total for the period: 120 percent of the applicable minimum wage times your total engaged hours, plus the per-mile rate times your engaged miles.

That combined number is then compared against your actual base pay and bonuses for the same period (not tips). If actual earnings fell short, the platform pays the difference, often labeled something like “Prop 22 Adjustment” on your statement. If you already earned more than the floor through strong base pay or bonuses, you keep what you earned and no top-up appears.

The two-week window matters because high-earning days offset slower ones inside the same period. A strong Monday balances a thin Wednesday. The adjustment only triggers when the period as a whole falls below the guarantee, not trip by trip.

What the Guarantee Does Not Cover

A few boundaries catch drivers off guard. Waiting time between requests is unpaid, no matter how long you sit online. Miles outside engaged time are unreimbursed, so the drive to a hotspot or the drive home is on you. And the per-mile rate is not meant to make you whole for the actual cost of running a vehicle; it is a partial contribution.

The guarantee also does not convert you into an employee. Prop 22 classifies app-based drivers as independent contractors, so there is no overtime, no paid rest breaks, no state wage-and-hour claim through the Labor Commissioner for a shortfall, and no withholding of income or payroll taxes from your pay. You are responsible for your own quarterly estimated taxes and self-employment tax.

If Your Payment Looks Wrong

If a reconciliation looks off, start inside the app. Each platform has support agents who can pull up individual trip records, engaged-time logs, and mileage data, and most disputes are resolved there.

If the platform will not fix it, your options narrow. The California Department of Industrial Relations has indicated it does not have jurisdiction over Prop 22 claims, because drivers are classified as independent contractors rather than employees. Enforcement instead runs through the California Attorney General and local prosecutors, who can act against platforms under the state’s Unfair Competition Law. Driver complaints can be submitted through the Attorney General’s office at oag.ca.gov/report.

Prop 22 separately bars platforms from deactivating or refusing to contract with drivers based on race, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristics, with those claims handled under the Unruh Civil Rights Act. If a platform ends your contract, it must give you an appeals process.⁴

1
California Department of Industrial Relations. California Minimum Wage MW-2026
2
California State Treasurer. Per-Mile Compensation Annual Adjustment for App-Based Drivers
3
California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code BPC 7453 – Earnings Guarantee
4
California Secretary of State. Text of Proposed Laws – Proposition 22
5
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Sets 2026 Business Standard Mileage Rate at 72.5 Cents per Mile