What Gig Economy Companies Are Doing During The COVID-19 Outbreak

Last week we gave you a seven-step action plan for how gig economy companies can respond to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. A lot has changed in a week, so now it’s time to take a look around the industry to see how gig economy companies are actually responding to the crisis. You may consider adopting some of these same measures for your own company. 

FOR CUSTOMERS

• Food delivery platforms Postmates and Instacart announcedthat they have introduced “non-contact deliveries.” Customers now have the choice to select their preferred drop-off option when checking out, whether that means meeting their delivery person at a curbside spot, or even having the order left outside the door.
• Postmates is also waiving commission fees for San Francisco restaurants not already working with the company so it can offer on-demand delivery without extra costs. If the pilot program is successful, it may expanded elsewhere.
• DoorDash is also letting customers leave instructions when they place an order if they prefer their food orders left outside their door. 

FOR WORKERS

• Uber and Lyft now offer drivers and delivery people 14 days of paid sick leave if they fall ill with coronavirusor are placed in quarantine.
• Instacart will cover up to 14 days of pay for its contractors and part-time employees diagnosed with COVID-19 or placed in mandatory quarantine. It also introduced sick pay coverage part-time employees.
• Postmates will pay for doctors’ visits and medical expenses related to any COVID-19 infection in their contractor pool.
• DoorDash set up a task force to develop support for its contractors, which includes two weeks of assistance to those with the virus or put under quarantine.
• Amazon Flex said it will assist drivers impacted by the outbreak on an “individual, case-by-case basis.”
• Finally, the biggest gig economy companies in the country – Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Postmates, and Instacart – are in talks to set up a fund to compensate drivers affected by the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. They are considering various ways to pay U.S.-based workers who have been infected or quarantined by the virus. Meanwhile, Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) sent letters to the CEOs of those five companies urging them to set up such a pooled health fund that would help cover testing or treatment. “As the United States mobilizes to respond to the recent outbreak and spread of COVID-19,” he said, “I write to urge you to publicly commit to prioritizing your workers’ economic security and the broader public health during this response.”