Gig companies say they're protecting sick workers like Jonathan — but they aren't.
Gig companies like Uber, Postmates, Instacart, and DoorDash are busy releasing PR statements about how they’re protecting sick workers and public health — but the reality is, the systems they’re setting up do nothing to ensure workers with COVID symptoms can stay at home with pay to cover their time off.
Jonathan Perales, a gig worker in Arlington, TX, who works on Postmates and Uber, recently shared his experience in a Pay Up blog post. Despite being sick with COVID symptoms and being instructed told to self-isolate by a doctor, he was unable to access Uber’s or Postmates’ emergency sick funds because eligibility was contingent on a positive COVID test. And most Americans are unable to get those tests right now, even if they’re showing symptoms.
Since his story was posted on Sunday, Uber has expanded its policy to include more workers, including those who have been told to self-isolate by doctors due to symptoms — at least in their public statements. But for Jonathan, and hundreds of other workers, things have only gotten worse.
Here’s what the reality is like for gig workers like Jonathan who are sick and trying to access funds to stay home.
Jonathan’s story:
how gig companies are responding to sick workers
Friday 3/13
This was the day I started exhibiting symptoms. Called Uber & was told to get a test done.
Saturday 3/14
Went to the hospital, tested negative for strep and flu, was denied COVID-19 test due to rationing but diagnosed with an unspecified upper respiratory infection and advised to stay home.
Filed claim through Uber’s financial assistance program for workers affected by COVID.
Sunday 3/15
Tried to self-quarantine at home, calling around for a test or financial assistance with no luck.
Received notification that my Uber account was being suspended immediately due to potential COVID exposure, and that I would need a public health department to submit medical clearance in order to be reactivated.
Uber responded to my claim by telling me that in order for it to be processed, I needed a healthcare professional or the state health department to submit supporting documentation to Uber’s Law Enforcement Response Portal.
Monday 3/16
Drove to the hospital to ask them to submit my documentation to Uber. They refused, citing HIPAA laws. Went to my local state health department and they refused as well. Was given an address to a clinic in Tarrant County to get a test done and have them submit my documents. They also turned me away and gave me a hotline to call.
I was told to just visit as many emergency rooms and urgent care clinics as I could until I found one that worked with me. I went to three, and none of them were willing to help. Gave up, went home and cried.
Tuesday 3/17
Blowing up Uber's phone and inbox to no avail. Not a single human response, nothing.
Workers like Jonathan are being put in a double-bind because of the systems these gig companies are setting up: they need to stay home to avoid spreading the virus, but are already living on the edge because of the sub-minimum wages these companies pay — and they cannot afford to take time off without pay.
For Jonathan, going without work means becoming homeless and being unable to care for his two-year-old daughter. He is currently living in a motel, and will be kicked out if he can’t pay the bill.
He isn’t eligible for Uber’s financial assistance program because it requires doctors to submit documentation — which they’re unable to do. And he can’t access Postmates’ financial assistance program because it depends on getting a COVID test — which is unavailable to most Americans due to rationing.
It’s clear from experiences like Jonathan’s that the policies gig companies are setting up are not designed to protect workers or public health — they’re designed to be so impossible to navigate, sick workers cannot access funds.
Workers want to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. But the policies gig companies are creating make that impossible. These policies are inhumane to workers, and they’re a danger to public health:
If workers are immediately deactivated when they submit a claim, but thrown into an arcane system to get funds, they are forced to go without pay. This discourages workers from submitting claims and getting off the road.
Requiring a positive COVID test to access funds means the majority of workers cannot access them. It also puts a strain on already-limited testing availability.
Requiring doctors to submit documentation (rather than letting workers submit it themselves) means workers cannot get claims approved because doctors are unwilling to submit documentation, and puts a strain on our healthcare system.
Forcing workers to continue making deliveries & driving passengers endangers all of us. Gig workers interact with customers, restaurant/store staff, and the public every single day — and if companies don’t ensure they can stay home when they have symptoms, they are directly contributing to the spread of the virus.
Companies like Uber, Postmates, DoorDash, and Instacart have billions of dollars at their disposal. They cannot shift the burden of protecting public health onto workers who are already on the brink of financial crisis.
Gig companies must step up by immediately amending their financial assistance programs to guarantee workers who are sick get access to sick pay by their next expected pay date, can access funds as soon as they are suspended from their apps, and do not have to provide documentation from medical professionals in order to access funds.
This is a matter of not only protecting workers, but protecting our communities. Billion-dollar corporations have a responsibility here: they have created ongoing financial precarity for hundreds of thousands of workers by paying subminimum wages and refusing to pay sick pay. Workers cannot afford to simply stay home and take the financial hit of this crisis. That burden must be placed on the companies — and they can step up now to ensure sick workers can stay home, and do their part to flatten the curve of this pandemic.