
Some call Uber drivers, Airbnb hosts receiving unemployment checks a ‘bailout’ - pseudolus
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/03/27/airbnb-uber-lyft-unemployment/
======
nostromo
If this happens Uber and Airbnb need to pay unemployment insurance for their
non-employees.

~~~
jameslk
That doesn't make any sense given that this applies to all those who are self-
employed, not just those getting paid via Uber and Airbnb:

> In crafting their coronavirus aid package, lawmakers in Congress opted
> against wading into the thorny war over who qualifies as an employee.
> Instead, lawmakers set up a fund focused on self-employed workers affected
> by the outbreak yet ineligible to receive traditional unemployment
> insurance.

------
dannyr
I get with Uber drivers.

But why Airbnb hosts? Airbnb is supposed to be supplemental income right?

~~~
kingbirdy
I agree, anyone doing AirBnB full time isn't an employee, they're a landlord.
They should receive relief commensurate to what (if any, not sure on the
details) other landlords are receiving, not unemployment.

------
ltbarcly3
They didn't pay into the insurance fund, so they didn't have 'unemployment
insurance', so if they are getting an emergency payment without years of
paying into the program, that is by definition a bailout.

Going forward gig workers should have to pay into the program like everyone
else, these programs are designed to protect workers and make sure people can
survive when times are harder, everyone should pay in when things are good,
and everyone should be protected when things are bad. They shouldn't need a
bailout (because they should have been protected and part of the system, and
therefore _entitled_ to these payments), but I'm glad they weren't left to try
to survive on their own.

------
xapata
Obviously, the answer is to stop distinguishing between an employee and a
contractor. Arbitrary thresholds have never been good policy.

~~~
godzillabrennus
Both are too extreme.

Employees are huge liabilities for employers and contractors have zero safety
net.

~~~
saltking112
What about part time employees. They often don’t have benefits, or much less.

------
koolba
I’m fine with Uber drivers getting unemployment. Just make sure when this
storm passes that we also retroactively collect unemployment back taxes. I
don’t really care if it’s garnished from the workers or the companies, but
_somebody_ has to pay and they’ve got to pay going forward as well.

~~~
alex_young
Honest question - why?

Every other western country protects workers without some accounting detail.
Why not us?

~~~
cwillu
Not quite sure what you mean by "accounting detail", but in canada, every
paycheque I've ever received has had government-run pension and employment
insurance deductions applied.

------
tracer4201
What is an AirBNB host exactly? The person who owns or rents out the place?
Serious question - if I list my extra bedroom on AirBNB, do I also get a
bailout?

I fully support helping people in need, but are we just handing people checks?

~~~
FireBeyond
Absolutely. The bill may have been bipartisan, but Trump will be hoping its
remembered come election time.

