In Florida, most gig workers can’t get unemployment. Welfare may be next best option
The past decade saw an explosion of gig work in the U.S. South Florida was no exception: According to the U.S. Census, there are now nearly half a million “non-employer” firms, or solo-practice businesses, in Miami-Dade County, and another several hundred thousand in Broward. Those figures likely include writers, designers and coders but undercount the number of Uber and Lyft drivers, of which there are thousands in the region.
Now, as the U.S. and South Florida economies grind to a halt, these workers face extraordinary uncertainty.
That’s because, according to legal experts, most gig workers cannot file for unemployment benefits.
“As independent contractors, Uber drivers would not be entitled to unemployment compensation benefits under Florida law,” said Diane Perez, a labor attorney in an email. The same applies to anyone who owns an Etsy store, or even a solo law practice.
Daniel Rowinsky, an attorney with Legal Services of Greater Miami, added that business owners who do not pay themselves as W-2 employees are also unlikely to be eligible.
According to a survey by TheRideShareGuy, a popular gig worker blog, four out of five Uber and Lyft drivers in the U.S. now say demand and earnings are down — and that the situation is getting worse with each passing day.
Uber and Lyft often sometimes tout their platforms as a way to earn extra money on top of a regular job. But the survey found 65% of drivers said they currently have no other way of earning money besides driving.
“This pandemic has drastically reduced the demand for rideshare and it currently isn’t worth driving in the foreseeable future,” said a driver who goes by “Basmati” on the Uber driver message board UberPeople in a message to the Miami Herald. “I quit driving on Tuesday of this week and I don’t plan on continuing until this virus hysteria settles down and things get back to normal.”
Uber and Lyft are providing some sick pay to drivers who become infected with COVID-19, the condition caused by the coronavirus. But neither company has firm policies in place that would serve to backstop workers’ earnings.
As a result, says Perez, gig workers like drivers looking for a steady source of income will either have to find another line of work — or turn to welfare programs like food stamps.
Delivery jobs booming
For now, at least, some corners of the gig world are booming. Take Instacart, the grocery delivery service. In a statement, the company said that this past weekend it saw “the highest customer demand in Instacart’s history in terms of groceries sold on our platform.”
The company declined to say how many Instacart workers are currently in South Florida.
Instacart has previously faced push-back from its workers for the way in which they receive compensation from the tech giant. But those policies have now been tweaked to provide more consistent earnings.
Meanwhile Amazon announced it will be hiring 100,000 workers to handle fulfillment and delivery in the coming weeks, including nearly 5,000 in Florida. The company also announced a pay bump, saying these workers will earn a base of $17 an hour. These include full- and part-time positions; some delivery jobs may involve an independent-worker contract.
And for a handful of workers, fate has smiled upon them. The online gig work platform Fiverr says individuals who work in music and gaming-related services are seeing increases in interest, as people are spending more time at home playing games and studios close.
One lucky Fiverr is Miami resident Beau Vallis, 27. Vallis works full-time as an audio mixer — and he says business is booming amid the outbreak.
“Believe it or not for me it’s been ramping up,” Vallis said. “Right now everyone is staying home and being cautious. As a result, they can sit on YouTube for eight hours a day without someone looking over their shoulder, and learn new [music] tricks. Then they send it over to me.”
Relief on the way?
Rowinsky says self-employed workers may find some relief if they qualify for a tax credit provision signed into law Wednesday. The credit is worth up to 10 days of lost self-employment income up to $511 per day if the worker was unable to work due to COVID-19. Self-employed workers can also receive two-thirds of lost income, up to $200 a day for 50 days, if they are caring for a loved one affected by the virus.
But this tax credit would only kick in next year, once the IRS has received a filer’s 2020 tax form.
Congress is currently looking at a direct-payment proposal that would be available to many American workers, whether or not they are self-employed or independent contractors.
There is also expanded disaster relief unemployment that may be available. But the program is administered at the state level. And currently, Florida is already facing an unemployment shock that is straining its ability to process claims from regular workers.
“I don’t know if they have ability to take all these claims all at once,” he said. “I expect the situation to get worse.”
This story has been updated to clarify that only self-employed workers who do not pay themselves as employees may not be eligible for benefits. Self-employed business owners who pay themselves as W-2 employees may be eligible.
This story was originally published March 21, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
