The good news is that at least two states, California and Oregon, have passed legislation that prohibits employers from requiring a driver’s license for jobs when driving isn’t “an essential function” of the job. Other states should follow suit.
This issue extends beyond the disability community. Twelve percent of driving-age adults do not have driver’s licenses, and people without licenses, both those who identify as disabled and those who do not, are more likely to be Black, Indigenous or people of color. Young people are increasingly unlikely to have a license: In 2020, only 25 percentof 16-year-olds had driver’s licenses, compared with 43 percent when I was a teenager in 1997.
Yet driver’s license requirements are standard even in workplaces where expertise in transit is an asset, like supervising mobility services or managing finances for a transit agency. Other times, employers will insist on driver’s licenses “just in case” — for a front-desk receptionist at a hotel “just in case” they might need to move a vehicle for the concierge or for a day-care worker “just in case” somebody might need to drive a kid to the hospital.
Many disabled people are encouraged to pursue careers as social workers or outreach specialists. But too many of these jobs presume that driving is the only way to travel to meet with clients, even though many of these clients also can’t drive and it’s helpful for them to receive services from someone who knows the bus network or has figured out how to access travel accommodations at work.
Most of the time, when I reach out to inquire about why a job would require a driver’s license when driving isn’t part of the job description, the license requirement gets removed pretty quickly. I’ve heard that it’s the default setting in many government HR hiring systems, so unless the person posting the job goes in and unchecks the driver’s license requirement box, it will appear in the posting.
Sometimes it’s more insidious. Last year I applied for a job coordinating safe routes for kids to walk and roll to school. While a driver’s license wasn't listed as a requirement, the application software used by the school district asked if I had a license. I didn’t get a call back, and I wonder if it was because my application got screened out because I didn’t check that box.
Because of these persistent barriers, I was excited to learn that Oregon and California have moved to prohibit this unnecessary barrier for those who want to work. Oregon Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin co-sponsored her state’s legislation in 2021 after hearing about the issue from an agency that works to help people with disabilities find employment: “If a driver’s license is a requirement, that is a significant barrier to employment for many people with disabilities who simply will never be able to drive,” she testified. And there are other ways for employers to confirm an applicant’s identity: “A driver’s license is not the only form of identification that is sufficient to meet all legal requirements of onboarding,” she pointed out.
California’s Senate Bill 1100 passed the legislature this summer and was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 28. Its author, Sen. Anthony J. Portantino, grew up supported by a disabled, non-driving family member. “Our requirements should be commensurate with duties of work, not arbitrary requirements that result in systematic exclusion and exacerbate social inequities,” he said.
Streets for All is a Los Angeles advocacy group that championed Portantino’s bill. “Having driver’s license or car ownership requirements suggests that having a car is equivalent to being a responsible, job-holding adult,” said Kirsten Bladh, the organization’s associate policy director. “It’s a little way that we enforce car dependency and pressure people into aspiring to own a car.”
Portantino hopes his legislation will be widely replicated: “If we can help Californians that don’t have driver’s licenses and that inspires other states, that’s exciting.”
It is exciting. The passage of SB 1100 will help to build momentum: In Washington state, disability advocates are organizing to get a similar bill introduced for the 2025 legislative session.
Let’s hope that this is just the first of many changes that remove barriers for non-drivers and make it possible for us to build communities where car ownership isn’t a requirement for independence and employment.
Anna Zivarts is a low-vision parent, non-driver and author of When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency (Island Press, 2024). She launched the Week Without Driving challenge and directs the Disability Mobility Initiative at Disability Rights Washington.
Governing’s opinion columns reflect the views of their authors and not necessarily those of Governing’s editors or management.
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