Warren pushes food delivery apps to classify workers as full employees

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent letters to the CEOs of four major food delivery apps Wednesday calling on them to reclassify their workers as full employees and provide them with increased labor protections amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“Delivery workers are experiencing serious health and economic vulnerabilities as a result of their jobs, and your company is failing to provide appropriate and necessary protections,” the former 2020 presidential candidate wrote to DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats and Instacart.

“I urge you to reclassify your delivery workers as employees, rather than independent contractors, and ensure they are provided a full suite of employee protections and benefits,” she said.

Warren called on the four companies to provide 14 days of paid leave to those with COVID-19 — the disease caused by the novel coronavirus — symptoms or who need to care for family members, protective equipment and a guaranteed minimum wage with added hazard pay.

“In this public health emergency, it is more important than ever to fairly compensate these workers and provide the health and safety protections they deserve,” Warren wrote. “I urge you to rise to the imperative of this public health crisis by providing paid leave, fair compensation, and adequate health and safety protections for all your workers.”