(Reuters) – As independent contractors, U.S. ride-hail drivers for Uber and Lyft benefited from soaring trip demand and flexible work hours.
FILE PHOTO: Uber and Lyft driver Adama Fofana sprays disinfectant in his car in New York City, New York, U.S., March 9, 2020. REUTERS/Joe Penney/File Photo
But as the coronavirus brings large parts of the country to a halt, drivers and companies are facing the downside of an ambiguous contractor model. Many Uber and Lyft drivers depend on the companies, but under U.S. labor law they do not have the protections granted to regular employees.
Under pressure to ease the plight of its roughly 1.3 million U.S. drivers and food delivery workers, Uber has seized on the crisis to advance its campaign for a larger overhaul of U.S. employment law to permit it to offer more benefits while maintaining workers’ contractor status, changes it has requested from state and federal lawmakers for several years.
Uber Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi on…
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