Coronavirus is revealing the gig economy’s sharp inequalities

A divide: The growing coronavirus outbreak is creating fear and confusion for contractors who lack the protections afforded to permanent employees. No work, no pay: While many tech companies have directed employees to work from home, that just isn’t possible for frontline workers like drivers or couriers. For contractors who are paid by the hour, if they don’t clock in, they earn nothing. Varying responses: Uber said yesterday that it may suspend the accounts of any rider or driver who tests positive for the coronavirus (it is not clear how it will enforce this). Amazon said it won’t dock attendance points from workers who don’t show up to its warehouses during the coronavirus crisis. And Amazon, Instacart, DoorDash, Uber, and Lyft have all promised to give their gig workers up to two weeks of sick pay if they can show they have been diagnosed with or quarantined because of COVID-19. Some of these companies are raising funds to help contractors pay medical bills. The response: These measures don’t seem to have done much to quell workers’ worries so far. Read the full story. This stories are part of our ongoing coverage of the coronavirus/Covid-19 outbreak, which we have decided to make available free of charge.