Drivers for for-hire-vehicle apps, including Uber and Lyft, have filed a federal lawsuit against New York State for refusing to pay or delaying unemployment benefits amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The lawsuit filed by Uber and Lyft drivers indicated that the New York State allegedly refused to pay or delayed the payment of unemployment benefits for two months amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
The federal lawsuit
The complaint stated: "The (Department of Labor's) failure to do so in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the difference between receiving [unemployment insurance] benefits in two weeks rather than two months can determine whether an unemployed New Yorker can put food on the table, is devastating to thousands of drivers and their families, the overwhelming majority of whom are immigrants."
The drivers cited previous court decisions which determined drivers for rideshare apps to be "employees" as opposed to "independent contractors" in the eyes of the law as independent contractors need to prove their earnings and employment status.
While an Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board decided in 2018 that app-based drivers are employees under law, there is still a pending case related to the issue in an Upstate appeals court.
The complaint also made allegations that despite some drivers submitting their earnings information to the state’s Department of Labor, they were informed that they would receive no unemployment benefits.
The lawsuit was filed on Monday in Eastern District of New York by four drivers and the New York Taxi Workers Alliance against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the state's Department of Labor and its commissioner.
Responses to the complaint
Cuomo’s office claimed that app-based workers in the state are receiving unemployment benefits through Pandemic Unemployment Assistance but did not specify the number of drivers who benefited from this.
Spokesman Jack Sterne explained that the governor’s office is working with all concerned parties to ensure that it has the necessary information to deliver benefits as quickly as possible.
Sterne said: "During this pandemic emergency, we have been moving heaven and earth to get every single unemployed New Yorker their benefits as quickly as possible -- including Uber and Lyft drivers who are treated no different than any other worker and, during this crisis, are receiving unemployment benefits through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program quicker than most other states."
"New York launched our Pandemic Unemployment Assistance application weeks before other states, and we are now processing more than 100,000 PUA applications per week," he added.
Sterne said more than $10 billion in benefits have been given out by the state to 2 million unemployed New Yorkers since April.
The lawsuit also claimed that Department of Labor has failed to compel the drivers’ companies to share their wage data.
However, an Uber spokesperson claimed that the company has shared data requested by the state while a spokeswoman for Lyft said the firm is fully prepared to give earnings information about drivers to the labor department.
Lyft spokeswoman Julie Wood explained: "The special interests behind this lawsuit aren't interested in what's best for drivers, since filing this lawsuit will do nothing to help them get assistance quickly.”
"We are working collaboratively with DOL to provide them access to earnings data and are doing everything we can to help drivers get the assistance they deserve," Wood added.
