(Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) on Tuesday launched a website to help its ride-hail and delivery drivers navigate the intricate U.S. unemployment system, with many gig workers still waiting to receive jobless pay provided under a U.S. coronavirus response bill.
The website here allows drivers to look up each state's individual application requirements, directs them to tax form downloads and includes links to online filing systems. It also features a question-and-answer section on legal questions surrounding U.S. coronavirus assistance.
Uber said it would continue to update the website as more information becomes available, with several U.S. states still not having set up a system for gig worker unemployment relief.
“We strongly advocated for independent workers to be included in the CARES Act; now we want to help drivers and delivery people get this financial assistance through their state governments,” Uber said in a statement, referring to the stimulus bill U.S. Congress passed at the end of March.
Unlike regular employees, independent contractors are generally not entitled to benefits including unemployment assistance, and Uber and other gig economy companies do not pay into the unemployment insurance system. Under the federal bill, gig workers for the first time were included for jobless pay.
But many Uber drivers and other gig workers have hit a bureaucratic wall in their efforts to apply for the coronavirus jobless benefits.
State agencies were caught unprepared handling a class of workers who are totally new to the U.S. unemployment system at a time when a record 22 million Americans are seeking unemployment benefits, overwhelming labor departments and causing large backlogs.
Uber on Tuesday
