My whole life I have seen advertisements for desk jobs that required people to have driver's licenses, use of a vehicle, and insurance, even when there was no driving involved in the job at all.
Requiring a driver's license for employment is now prohibited in California if driving is not reasonably expected to be part of the job duties. This is a huge victory for people who use transit and cycling for their mobility.
https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/12/28/new-in-2025-protecting-more-workers/
Driver's licenses served other purposes.
It's used to check credit scores, find driving infractions, engage in wage theft, or misuse residency to underpay -- all things that rarely had anything to do with job responsibilities.
It's used to sift out candidates. Fewer wheelchair users have a drivers license. Ditto the working poor, disabled, or unhoused.
Employers avoid hiring candidates who might ask for WFH or get stuck in traffic frequently.
@Npars01 I do not own a car by choice but maintain a driver's license. The insistence that someone needed to have their own car before applying for a stationary job never made sense nor seemed fair.
The requirement for a car was used to subsidize company operations.
"Can you pick up the cake for Joe's retirement during lunch?"
"Please pick up the mail on your way into work & get me a pack of cigarettes too."
"Drop off the samples at the printers on your way home"
It's coercive & a cost/mile reimbursement never covers the full cost of owning a vehicle.
It offloads corporate expenses onto employees & it's used for unpaid overtime running errands.
Most of my employers reimbursed miles driven at that year's standard mileage rate set by the IRS.
One didn't and I only found out about it after my boss had me drive across town.