Asian Markets Fall as Investors Brace for Grim U.S. Jobs Data: Live Updates

The move appears at odds with the rules of the program, however, and could create a conflict between the state and federal governments.

A recently enacted California law effectively requires companies like Uber and Lyft to classify their workers as employees, qualifying them for traditional unemployment benefits. As a result, they appear ineligible for benefits under the federal program for the self-employed, known as Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.

A senior U.S. Labor Department official told reporters on Wednesday that recipients of the pandemic assistance have to be ineligible for traditional unemployment benefits.

The California labor secretary, Julie A. Su, said in an interview that she believed that the state’s move was legal because the federal government had “emphasized flexibility” in processing the emergency aid.

Uber and Lyft have long insisted that their drivers are contractors, not employees, and are challenging the California law in court. But they have urged their drivers nationwide to apply for the pandemic assistance.

Before the executive order, some Uber and Lyft drivers successfully claimed unemployment benefits in California. But the process could take months because the companies refused to submit income data needed to verify eligibility.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/16/business/stock-market-today-coronavirus.html