Once the EDD verifies our income as drivers, we receive both UI and the $600. Still not at $11,700 for a quarter? Every Lyft and Uber driver I have interviewed since January has asked me the same thing: If AB 5 is law, then why I am not an employee? A good way around it is if you’re collecting unemployment just say you worked 1 Day the week … Uber driver is driving while getting unemployment While the world’s economy is reeling from the effects of COVID-19, there are those that are gaming the system. Open Letter to State Unemployment Insurance Agencies on Uber & Lyft Drivers We are professors and researchers, each of whom has expertise relevant to the question of whether drivers of transportation companies Uber and Lyft are employees for purposes of state unemployment insurance. After nearly two months of applications and appeals, some Uber and Lyft drivers are getting unemployment insurance. In California, with unemployment benefits now expanded to ride-hailing drivers, the state will have to try to make Uber and Lyft pay for benefits their drivers receive, Dubal said. Wagle disagreed. With all the changes happening, we have gotten a ton of questions concerning Unemployment for Lyft Drivers and Uber Drivers. For example, they receive no health care and no unemployment insurance. The problem is that EDD is not sure how to separate misclassified workers from people who are legitimate independent contractors. It’s not right.”. Typically, such … She’s been without work for almost two months. He is so happy to have finally gotten some income. Several companies, including Uber, Lyft and DoorDash, have poured $110 million into a ballot initiative that would exempt them from AB 5. "There's nothing different here.". Levine says there is a danger in the state attorney general or a local district attorney moving too fast and blowing the case. Lyft and Uber are among companies backing a California ballot measure that would keep drivers as independent contractors. Claimant and similarly situated drivers (“Claimants”) sought unemployment insurance benefits when they ceased driving for Uber. It's been a long road for Lyft & Uber drivers when it comes to the PUA (Pandemic Unemployment Assistance) and getting unemployment benefits. We were given PUA in error. Uber calculates aid based on a driver's average weekly earnings for the six months preceding March 6. Cross out the zeros and write in the appropriate amounts to the address listed on the upper left-hand corner of the Notice of Unemployment Insurance Award. In both case, higher earnings equal more benefits. Drivers have reported much concern that they will have to pay back EDD for this “overpayment”. Question 4 can confuse people too: “Did you refuse any work?” You can answer NO even if you did not log into Uber or Lyft. Car Travel during Covid-19 If you need to apply for UI for the first time, your work as an app-based driver anytime before mid-December will count toward UI. In addition to California, at least three states — Illinois, New York and New Jersey — have deemed at least some Uber and Lyft drivers eligible for regular unemployment insurance. KQED spoke with one driver in Daly City who had gone through this whole process and who doesn’t want to use his name for fear of Uber kicking him off the app. If you need to break down your earnings on a monthly basis to show your quarterly gross earnings accurately and hopefully get a higher benefit, we’ve got specific information on how to do that within the Uber and the Lyft apps:  Uber Process and Lyft Process. You may have to go deeper. You’ll need to make sure you are filling in the bi-weekly certifications every week – see below. EDD understands Lyft & Uber drivers to be employees, even though our employers have misclassified us as independent contractors, An additional weekly $600 federal support is available to everyone who gets state UI until the end of July. Sign up for our daily newsletter. With guidance from Legal Aid at Work (https://legalaidatwork.org/) we stand firmly that regular UI is our best way to access benefits. “If you are going to go up against companies this large, you have to do it the right way,” Levine said. The state’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra, has been far more reticent. The driver in Daly City says he is getting the max in state benefits: $450 a week. Wagle desperately needs the money. A California court of appeals upheld an injunction against Uber and Lyft on Thursday and asked the ride-hailing companies to classify their drivers as employees under California’s A.B. We should be paid NOW and we should be receiving our state benefit based on our past income and the additional $600 federal benefit. PUA is calculated on net earnings, what you earn after all expenses are deducted. Initiating the request to convert to UI could be helpful if you need to extend those benefits longer than the end of the year - as UI benefits can extend up to 59 weeks. This includes up to 39 weeks of expanded unemployment insurance. Then select “Missing Wages from Claims” from the Question Topic dropdown menu.c) Briefly state why EDD does not have your wage information. Posted by 1 year ago. While this may or may not seem to affect you and yours, keep in mind that there is a huge backlog of workers trying receive unemployment because that is truly the only source of income they have. The legislation could transform the so-called "gig economy," which is made up of independent contractors. I have to pay bills. It’s going to take time. Early after passage of the CARES act, states including California were slow in offering unemployment for gig workers because how do you verify income? Uber said Monday that customers in California will see prices increase this week for rides and food deliveries to help cover the costs of new benefits for its workers. Anwaar Malik, a driver for Uber and Lyft in Long Island, said he applied for unemployment aid in New York, the epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, immediately after he learned that the CARES Act had become law. “Eventually when this calms down,” Vigne said, “we anticipate that the state will go after these companies who haven’t paid into the fund, who haven’t been reporting earnings on behalf of workers so that the fund could be paid back.”. “With the AB 5, we’re entitled to get the normal UI with the corporations of Uber-Lyft helping," he said. Because UI is determined by your highest gross earnings in a quarter, you may be able to secure a higher benefit if you break down your earnings for the last 18 months by quarter. The EDD did not respond to a request for comment. Uber’s claim that this is a one-off unemployment benefits decision is incorrect. Second, there’s concern over how long the PUA funding will last compared to UI benefits. After nearly two months of applications and appeals, some Uber and Lyft drivers are getting unemployment insurance. California Unemployment and Uber. If the state doesn’t go after Uber and Lyft, it could be on the hook for a lot of money — money it doesn't have, as California has already started borrowing money from the federal government to pay unemployment. [Note: the law will go into effect sometime in the middle of December - depending on when the election results are finalized.]. In addition to the state benefit, $600/week federal benefit will be added to regular UI benefits until the end of July. But for everyone thus far, it has been a lengthy process, as the state has to find other ways to verify our income because Uber and Lyft are not following the law, and don't report our earnings. Once Prop 22 comes into effect, the work you do will NOT be employment under CA law, so that work will not qualify you in the future for UI. We understand that EDD is in agreement, that misclassified workers, like Lyft and Uber drivers, should have been put on UI. Normally, only workers who get a W2 from their job (either part time or full time) are eligible for unemployment benefits. BUT - you may qualify for UI based on work you did BEFORE the law came into effect. The state has promised to give benefits for all weeks we've applied for, back to February 1. The state Legislature codified that ruling into law with AB 5. 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