A protester outside Uber’s office in Massachusetts.
The Senate’s $2 trillion coronavirus economic bailout bill includes help for gig-economy workers, like Uber and Lyft drivers, who have seen their livelihood dissolve during the coronavirus crisis.
For the first time, these workers would qualify for unemployment insurance.
They would also qualify for the additional four months of extra payments this bill would provide to everyone who collects unemployment.
It isn’t clear exactly how much money a month drivers, contract workers, and freelancers could get, but they should qualify for a weekly payment equivalent to if they were a laid-off full-time employee.
The maximum weekly amount varies by state, but the extra unemployment insurance would add up to a maximum of $600 more a week.
