The Covid-19 Pandemic Aggravates Disputes Around Gig Work

Many gig workers are classified as independent contractors and therefore lack workers’ compensation, health care benefits, and paid sick leave. Because app-based employers do not pay into unemployment insurance, workers cannot access unemployment benefits either. Some companies have created relief funds for sick and quarantined drivers, but amounts and coverage are not clearly disclosed. A relief bill signed by President Trump allows independent contractors to receive unemployment benefits comparable to other workers, but payments will take weeks to reach workers. Income has already fallen as rider demand drops, leaving drivers with reduced pay while they face health risks and incentives to keep working despite illness.

"Today, many gig workers are considered independent contractors, not entitled to workers' compensation, health care benefits, or sick pay. Because their employers don't pay into unemployment insurance, the workers haven't been able to obtain those benefits either. Many app-based companies have established relief funds to support sick and quarantined drivers, though spokespeople for Uber, Lyft, and Postmates declined to say how much money they have given out, or to how many workers."

"The relief bill Trump signed allows independent contractors to receive unemployment benefits on par with other workers. In a letter to the White House earlier in the week, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi advocated for including gig workers. He also urged lawmakers' to consider a third category of employment for gig workers, a request that was not included in the final bill. But the unemployment checks won't arrive in workers' mailboxes for weeks."

"Many workers say the system incentivizes them to drive when they may be sick, until they are too ill to get behind the wheel or deliver food. That may not be fast enough for drivers like Jewel Davis, a Seattle-based Uber and Lyft driver. Early in March, she began supplementing her regular Lysol cleanings with gloves, squeezes of hand sanitizer, and disinfectant wipes."

"Even before she hung up her keys, the number of riders in Seattle had plunged, which meant her paycheck had too. That's true elsewhere. In New York City, weekly income has dropped by 65 per"

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