Uber pays $3.4M for Seattle gig worker leave law mistakes

SEATTLE (AP) – Uber has agreed to pay more than $ 3.4 million to 15,000 drivers after mistakes were made related to Seattle’s groundbreaking law on paid sick leave for gig workers.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Seattle City Council temporarily extended sickness and safe vacation protection to gig workers last year who had not previously qualified because many companies were treating them as independent contractors.

The law allows workers to collect and take paid days – based on their average daily wage, including tips – to support themselves or sick family members. The idea was to reduce financial pressures on them, keep working, and potentially spread the virus at a time when people were increasingly relying on gig staff to carry out tasks like delivering food.

It also enables them to take paid time off for other reasons, such as seeking help in cases of domestic violence or looking after children whose schools have been closed due to the pandemic.

The Seattle Labor Standards Bureau began investigating after drivers complained that they were not getting the services they needed from Uber.

The office said in a press release Thursday that Uber conducted several audits after the investigation began. The company found that some drivers were unable to access their paid leisure accounts through the app due to technical glitches. some vacation requests were accidentally canceled; some had incorrect vacation credits in their accounts; and some had to wait until the day after their application for leave to take them.

The company has resolved these problems voluntarily, the office said.

The agreement includes nearly $ 1.3 million in arrears, interest, damages and civil penalties for 2,329 workers and an upfront payment of nearly $ 2.2 million for unused paid time off to 15,084 workers.

The company said it had already earmarked the latter amount for drivers on sick leave. According to the comparison, it simply pays each eligible driver one of these days now and not later.

Uber did not accept any liability in the settlement agreement.

“Access to paid sick days during this pandemic means we can keep our customers and families safe and healthy,” one of the drivers, Jamel Jara, said in the press release.

Harry Hartfield, Uber’s public affairs manager, said in the press release that the company had been working for several weeks to build a new payment system that would comply with the new law.

“Although the vast majority of workers applied for their paid sick leave and safe time with no issues, we are grateful that the Office of Labor Standards worked with us as we improved our systems to ensure accurate and on-time payments,” said Hartfield.

Paid sick leave coverage for Gig workers ends 180 days after the civil emergency declared by officials in response to the pandemic ends.