Seattle Votes to Give Gig Drivers Paid Sick Leave During Virus

Seattle drivers for companies like Uber, Lyft, and Instacart would temporarily get paid leave if they are unable to work for health or safety reasons during the Covid-19 emergency, under a bill the Seattle City Council passed Monday.

The ordinance, which now heads to Mayor Jenny Durkan for her consideration, is intended to “reduce the risk of gig workers working while sick and spreading illness,” during the pandemic, according to the bill.

Gig workers would be entitled under the measure to accrue and use paid leave to address health and safety needs of themselves or their families, including for diagnosis and treatment of injury and illness, preventative care, closure of a family member’s school or place of care, and to address domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault issues.

Accrual and use of paid sick and safe time would be conditioned upon days worked during which there are work-related stops in Seattle, such as shopping in stores to fulfill online deliveries, making those deliveries, or picking up or dropping off customers.

Measure to Sunset

Workers who begin driving for gig companies after the ordinance takes effect would accrue at least one day of paid sick and safe time for every 30 days worked. Drivers hired before the effective date would, at the hiring company’s discretion, accrue either one day for every 30 worked since Oct. 1, 2019, or five days on the effective date of the ordinance and then one day for every 30 days worked.

Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Payment would be based on average daily compensation, which includes payments from the company, bonuses, commissions, and tips.

Council members passed the measure 9 to 0. If Durkan signs it, the ordinance would take effect 30 days later and remain in effect for 180 days after the end of the emergency proclaimed by Durkan this past March 3.

The city would enforce the ordinance, which also gives aggrieved parties the right to sue.

Uber Has “Concerns”

In an email statement before the council meeting, Uber said the company has “significant concerns about the Seattle City Council considering emergency measures that single out one sector without meaningful input from the public or groups that may be affected.”

Instacart said in a statement that it was “the first delivery company to offer paid sick time to shoppers. Since early March, we’ve committed to offering up to 14 days of pay for any part-time employee or full-service shopper who is diagnosed with Covid-19 or placed in individual mandatory isolation or quarantine, as directed by a local, state, or public health authority.”

The ordinance does not require a coronavirus diagnosis in order for a worker to take sick leave.

“Gig workers have been left out of health and safety protections afforded to most working people,” the measure’s prime sponsor, Council member Teresa Mosqueda, said Monday in a prepared statement. “But now it is essential that these essential workers have paid sick days so they don’t have to go to work ill during the time of Covid-19.”