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Please see http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov for the production version.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Delivery and transportation network companies
General
This bill provides that under specific circumstances, delivery network couriers
and drivers for transportation network companies (application-based drivers) are
not employees of the delivery network companies and transportation network
companies (network companies) for the purposes of worker's compensation
insurance, minimum wage laws, and unemployment insurance. In the bill,
“application-based driver” is defined as a delivery network courier or participating
driver who provides services through the online-enabled application, software, or
system of a network company.

Under the bill, if a network company does not engage in all of the following
practices, an application-based driver is not an employee of the company: 1)
prescribe specific dates, times of day, or a minimum number of hours during which
the driver must be logged into the network company's online-enabled application,
software, or system; 2) terminate the contract of the driver for not accepting a specific
request for transportation or delivery service request; 3) restrict the driver from
performing services through other network companies except while performing
services through that network company; and 4) restrict the driver from working in
any other lawful occupation or business.
Portable benefit accounts
Under the bill, if certain conditions are satisfied, a financial institution or other
person may obtain approval from the Department of Financial Institutions to offer
portable benefit accounts. A “portable benefit account” is an account administered
by such an approved financial institution or other person (portable benefit account
provider) from which an individual may receive distributions for the purposes
described below. A network company may contribute to a portable benefit account
of an application-based driver who meets certain eligibility requirements (eligible
driver) a percentage of the driver's earnings, and the driver may also contribute to
the portable benefit account. An eligible driver may receive a distribution from a
portable benefit account for the following purposes: 1) to compensate for lost income
due to an illness or accident or loss of work due to certain other events; 2) to transfer
the money to an individual retirement account; or 3) to pay health insurance
premiums. A portable benefit account provider may include an income replacement
benefit to be made available to eligible drivers upon the occurrence of an event under
1) above.
Insurance coverage
The bill provides that a network company may purchase blanket accident and
sickness insurance for its application-based drivers. A network company that
purchases such a policy must file a copy of it with the Office of the Commissioner of
Insurance within 30 days of the beginning of the policy year. Additionally, the
network company must notify OCI at least 30 days prior to the effective date of the
policy's cancellation or nonrenewal, and OCI is treated as a certificate holder for
purposes of receiving the notice. The bill specifies that the state's worker's
compensation laws do not apply to the blanket accident and sickness insurance
policy.
The bill also provides that a network company may carry, provide, or otherwise
make available occupational accident insurance to cover the medical expenses and
lost income resulting from an injury suffered by an application-based driver while
engaged on the company's online-enabled application, software, or system. The bill
requires that the policy provide, in aggregate, at least $1,000,000 of coverage and,
at a minimum, all of the following:
1. Coverage for medical expenses incurred of at least $250,000 and for up to 104
weeks following the injury.
2. Continuous total disability payments and temporary total disability
payments for up to 104 weeks following the injury that equal one-sixth of the

application-based driver's total earnings from all network companies during the 28
days prior to the accident, subject to limitations in worker's compensation law.
3. For the benefit of a spouse, child, or other dependent of an application-based
driver who suffers an injury that results in death, an accidental death benefit equal
to the death benefit provided under worker's compensation law.
The bill provides that if an accident is covered by occupational accident
insurance maintained by more than one network company, the insurer of the
company against whom a claim is filed is entitled to a contribution for the pro rata
share of coverage attributable to one or more other network companies, up to the
above coverages and limits.
Under the bill, any benefit provided to an application-based driver under an
occupational accident insurance policy is treated as amounts payable under a
worker's compensation law or disability benefit for the purpose of determining
amounts payable under uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage.
For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as
an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB485,1 1Section 1. 102.01 (2) (ae) of the statutes is created to read:
SB485,3,42 102.01 (2) (ae) “Application-based driver” means a delivery network courier
3or participating driver who provides services through the online-enabled
4application, software, or system of a network company.
SB485,2 5Section 2. 102.01 (2) (an) of the statutes is created to read:
SB485,3,86 102.01 (2) (an) “Delivery network company” means a business that maintains
7an online-enabled application, software, or system to facilitate delivery services
8within this state.
SB485,3 9Section 3. 102.01 (2) (ann) of the statutes is created to read:
SB485,3,1210 102.01 (2) (ann) “Delivery network courier” means an individual who provides
11delivery services through a delivery network company's online-enabled application,
12software, or system.
SB485,4 13Section 4. 102.01 (2) (anp) of the statutes is created to read:
SB485,4,7
1102.01 (2) (anp) “Delivery services” means the fulfillment of a delivery request
2by picking up from any location any item and delivering the item, by using a
3passenger vehicle, a bicycle, a scooter, public transportation, or other similar means
4of transportation or by walking, to a location selected by the customer located within
550 miles of the pickup location. “Delivery services” includes the selection, collection,
6or purchase of items by a delivery network courier, as well as other tasks incidental
7to the delivery.
SB485,5 8Section 5. 102.01 (2) (dc) of the statutes is created to read:
SB485,4,109 102.01 (2) (dc) “Network company” means a delivery network company or a
10transportation network company.
SB485,6 11Section 6. 102.01 (2) (ds) of the statutes is created to read:
SB485,4,1212 102.01 (2) (ds) “Participating driver” has the meaning given in s. 440.40 (3).
SB485,7 13Section 7. 102.01 (2) (gh) of the statutes is created to read:
SB485,4,1514 102.01 (2) (gh) “Transportation network company” has the meaning given in
15s. 440.40 (6).
SB485,8 16Section 8. 102.07 (8) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB485,4,2117 102.07 (8) (a) Except as provided in pars. (b) and, (bm), and (bs), every
18independent contractor is, for the purpose of this chapter, an employee of any
19employer under this chapter for whom he or she is performing service in the course
20of the trade, business, profession or occupation of such employer at the time of the
21injury.
SB485,9 22Section 9. 102.07 (8) (bs) of the statutes is created to read:
SB485,4,2423 102.07 (8) (bs) An application-based driver is not an employee of a network
24company if the company refrains from doing all of the following:
SB485,5,3
11. Prescribing specific dates, times of day, or a minimum number of hours
2during which the application-based driver must be logged into the network
3company's online-enabled application, software, or system.
SB485,5,64 2. Terminating the contract of the application-based driver for not accepting
5a specific delivery service request or request for transportation, except as prohibited
6by s. 440.45 (2).
SB485,5,97 3. Restricting the application-based driver from performing services through
8other network companies except while performing services through that network
9company.
SB485,5,1110 4. Restricting the application-based driver from working in any other lawful
11occupation or business.
SB485,10 12Section 10. 103.08 of the statutes is created to read:
SB485,5,14 13103.08 Application-based drivers; portable benefits accounts. (1)
14Definitions. In this section:
SB485,5,1515 (a) “Application-based driver” has the meaning given in s. 102.01 (2) (ae).
SB485,5,1616 (b) “Delivery network company” has the meaning given in s. 102.01 (2) (an).
SB485,5,2217 (c) “Earnings” means all moneys paid directly to an application-based driver,
18including incentives and bonuses, by a delivery network company or a transportation
19network company, or remitted to the application-based driver from a payment
20facilitated by a delivery network company or transportation network company, but
21not including amounts charged for fees, taxes, or other similar charges. “ Earnings”
22does not include any payments for gratuities.
SB485,6,223 (d) “Eligible driver” means an application-based driver whose earnings from
24an individual delivery network company or transportation network company totaled

1at least $750, without combining earnings from delivery and rideshare services
2provided through the same company, during a calendar quarter.
SB485,6,43 (e) “Network company” means a delivery network company or a transportation
4network company.
SB485,6,75 (f) “Portable benefit account” means an account from which an individual may
6withdraw money for a permissible use under sub. (3) that is administered by a
7portable benefit account provider.
SB485,6,108 (g) “Portable benefit account provider” means a financial institution or other
9person authorized under s. 224.55 (3) to offer and administer portable benefit
10accounts.
SB485,6,1111 (h) “Transportation network company” has the meaning given in s. 440.40 (6).
SB485,6,14 12(2) Contributions. (a) A network company may contribute to a portable
13benefit account of an eligible driver a percentage of an eligible driver's earnings in
14the preceding calendar quarter that the driver earned through that company.
SB485,6,1815 (b) A network company may allow an eligible driver to elect to contribute to the
16eligible driver's portable benefit account, and may deduct the amount elected by the
17eligible driver from the individual's earnings and designate such amount for
18contribution to the portable benefit account.
SB485,6,20 19(3) Qualifying events. An eligible driver who has money in a portable benefit
20account may receive a distribution of amounts for any of the following:
SB485,6,2321 (a) To compensate for lost income due to an illness or accident of the driver, loss
22of work due to the birth or adoption of a child of the driver, or loss of work due to a
23declared federal or local state of emergency.
SB485,6,2424 (b) To transfer the money to an individual retirement account.
SB485,6,2525 (c) To pay premiums for health insurance coverage in the individual market.
SB485,7,4
1(4) Eligibility duration. An eligible driver shall remain an eligible driver of
2the delivery network company or transportation network company for 2 calendar
3quarters following the initial quarter of eligibility, regardless of the amount of
4earnings the application-based driver has during those 2 quarters.
SB485,11 5Section 11. 104.01 (2) (b) 6. of the statutes is created to read:
SB485,7,66 104.01 (2) (b) 6. An individual excluded under s. 102.07 (8) (bs).
SB485,12 7Section 12. 108.02 (12) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB485,7,108 108.02 (12) (a) “Employee" means any individual who is or has been performing
9services for pay for an employing unit, whether or not the individual is paid directly
10by the employing unit, except as provided in par. (bm), (c), (d), (dm), or (dn), or (ds).
SB485,13 11Section 13. 108.02 (12) (ds) of the statutes is created to read:
SB485,7,1412 108.02 (12) (ds) Paragraph (a) does not apply to an individual who is
13performing services for an employing unit other than a government unit, an Indian
14tribe, or a nonprofit organization and who is excluded under s. 102.07 (8) (bs).
SB485,14 15Section 14. 224.55 of the statutes is created to read:
SB485,7,16 16224.55 Portable benefit accounts. (1) In this section:
SB485,7,1717 (a) “Eligible driver” has the meaning given in s. 103.08 (1) (d).
SB485,7,1818 (b) “Financial institution” has the meaning given in s. 214.01 (1) (jn).
SB485,7,1919 (c) “Portable benefit account” has the meaning given in s. 103.08 (1) (f).
SB485,7,2020 (d) “Qualifying event” means an event described in s. 103.08 (3) (a).
SB485,8,2 21(2) A financial institution or other person may request approval from the
22department to offer portable benefit accounts. If the financial institution or other
23person demonstrates to the satisfaction of the department that the manner in which
24the financial institution or other person will administer the portable benefit account
25will be consistent with s. 103.08 (2) and (3), and the financial institution or other

1person satisfies any applicable rule under sub. (5), the department shall approve the
2request.
SB485,8,4 3(3) A financial institution or other person approved by the department under
4sub. (2) may offer and administer portable benefit accounts.
SB485,8,7 5(4) A financial institution or other person authorized to offer and administer
6portable benefit accounts under sub. (3) may include an income replacement benefit
7to be made available to eligible drivers upon the occurrence of any qualifying event.
SB485,8,9 8(5) The department may promulgate rules related to the process and
9requirements for the department's approval under sub. (2).
SB485,15 10Section 15 . 600.03 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB485,8,1611 600.03 (4) A “blanket insurance policy" is a group policy covering unscheduled
12classes of persons, with the persons insured to be determined by definition of the
13class with or without designation of the persons covered but without any individual
14underwriting. A blanket insurance policy includes a blanket accident and sickness
15insurance policy issued to a network company, as defined in s. 632.985 (1) (b),
16covering application-based drivers, as defined in s. 102.01 (2) (ae).
SB485,16 17Section 16 . 632.985 of the statutes is created to read:
SB485,8,19 18632.985 Insurance coverage provided by network companies. (1)
19Definitions. In this section:
SB485,8,2020 (a) “Application-based driver” has the meaning given in s. 102.01 (2) (ae).
SB485,8,2221 (b) “Network company” means a delivery network company, as defined in s.
22102.01 (2) (an), or a transportation network company, as defined in s. 440.40 (6).
SB485,8,25 23(2) Blanket accident and sickness insurance. (a) A network company may
24purchase blanket accident and sickness insurance coverage for all application-based
25drivers who provide covered services through the company's network.
SB485,9,6
1(b) No later than 30 days after the commencement of a policy year, a network
2company that purchases an insurance policy described in par. (a) shall file with the
3commissioner a copy of the policy. At least 30 days prior to the effective date of a
4cancellation or nonrenewal of the policy, the network company shall file with the
5commissioner a notice of the cancellation or nonrenewal, and the commissioner shall
6be treated as a certificate holder for purposes of receiving the notice.
SB485,9,87 (c) Except as provided in this section, ch. 102 does not apply to a blanket
8accident and sickness insurance policy described in par. (a).
SB485,9,19 9(3) Occupational accident insurance. (a) A network company may carry,
10provide, or otherwise make available occupational accident insurance to cover the
11medical expenses and lost income resulting from an injury suffered by an
12application-based driver while engaged on the network company's online-enabled
13application, software, or system. For purposes of this paragraph, an
14application-based driver is engaged on the network company's online-enabled
15application, software, or system during the time beginning when the
16application-based driver accepts a rideshare request or delivery request and ending
17when the application-based driver completes that rideshare request or delivery
18request. A policy under this paragraph shall provide, in aggregate, at least
19$1,000,000 of coverage and, at a minimum, all of the following:
SB485,9,2120 1. Coverage for medical expenses incurred of at least $250,000 and for up to 104
21weeks following the injury.
SB485,9,2422 2. Continuous total disability payments and temporary total disability
23payments for up to 104 weeks following the injury that equal one-sixth of the
24application-based driver's total earnings from all network companies during the 28

1days prior to the accident, subject to the minimum and maximum weekly amount of
2benefits under s. 102.11.
SB485,10,73 3. For the benefit of a spouse, child, or other dependent, as described in s.
4102.51, of an application-based driver who suffers an injury that results in death
5while engaged on the network company's online-enabled application, software, or
6system, an accidental death benefit equal to the death benefit provided under s.
7102.46.
SB485,10,128 (b) If an accident is covered by occupational accident insurance maintained by
9more than one network company, the insurer of the network company against whom
10a claim is filed shall be entitled to a contribution for the pro rata share of coverage
11attributable to one or more other network companies, up to the coverages and limits
12under par. (a).
SB485,10,1613 (c) Any benefit provided to an application-based driver under an occupational
14accident insurance policy described in par. (a) shall be treated as amounts payable
15under a worker's compensation law or disability benefit for the purpose of
16determining amounts payable under insurance provided under s. 632.32. (4) or (4m).
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