在流感大流行期间，零工工人很难得到经济上的帮助

在流感大流行期间，零工工人很难得到经济上的帮助

April McGhee and her teenage daughter started feeling sick last month. They had coughs, sore throats and fevers. Her daughter's condition became so bad that they went to the emergency room.

阿普丽尔·麦吉和她十几岁的女儿上个月开始感到不舒服。他们咳嗽、喉咙痛、发烧。她女儿的情况变得很糟糕，她们去了急诊室。

"She had it worse than I did," McGhee said. "Her cough lasted longer. It was really a concern.

“她的情况比我更糟，”麦吉说。她的咳嗽了更久。这确实令人担心。

McGhee, who lives in Sacramento, wanted both of them to get tested for the coronavirus. But the hospital told her they weren't sick enough to qualify for testing under California's rules. So, they went home and into isolation.

住在萨克拉门托的麦吉希望两人都接受冠状病毒检测。但医院告诉她，根据加州的规定，他们的病情还没有严重到有资格接受检测。所以，他们回家后就被隔离了。

A single mom, McGhee makes ends meet by delivering groceries for Instacart and meals for Postmates. She contacted Instacart to apply for sick pay under a policy the company recently put in place because of the pandemic.

作为一个单身母亲，麦吉通过为食品快递送杂货和为同城快递送餐来维持生计。她联系了食品快递公司，根据该公司最近针对大流行制定的一项政策，申请病假工资。

"They basically laughed me off," McGhee said. "They said, 'Unless you have the health department or [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] making you stay home on quarantine, or a note from the doctor saying that you've been diagnosed with COVID-19. you're out of luck.'"

“他们基本上是一笑置之，”麦吉说。“他们说，‘除非卫生部门或(美国疾病控制与预防中心)让你呆在家里隔离，或者医生说你被诊断出患有COVID-19.否则你就没那么幸运了。’”

Gig companies like Instacart, Uber and Lyft connect people who need tasks done with workers willing to do them. But the companies consider these workers independent contractors, not employees. The firms generally do not provide paid sick leave or other employee benefits.

像是是食品快递、优步和来福车这样的零工公司会把需要完成任务的人与愿意完成任务的员工联系起来。但这些公司认为这些工人是独立的承包商，而不是雇员。这些公司通常不提供带薪病假或其他员工福利。

Now, however, that's changing. The nature of the work that Instacart shoppers, Uber and Lyft drivers and other gig workers do puts them in close contact with strangers. They are, in essence, on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, and some of them are getting sick.

然而，现在这种情况正在改变。食品快递的购物者、优步和来福车的司机以及其他零工的工作性质，让他们与陌生人保持着密切联系。从本质上讲，他们是冠状病毒大流行的前线，他们中的一些人正在生病。

McGhee joined other Instacart workers who walked off the job Monday to demand better safety measures. She says the company's policy not only puts her at risk, it encourages people who are sick to keep working and, potentially, spread the disease.

麦吉加入了其他食品快递工人的行列，他们在周一进行了罢工，要求更好的安全措施。她说，公司的政策不仅把她置于危险之中，还鼓励生病的人继续工作，并有可能传播疾病。

She said the company should keep its workers healthy "as a buffer zone instead of as a Typhoid Mary."

她说，公司应该让员工保持健康，“作为缓冲地带，而不是坏事传播者。”

Instacart has since announced it plans to distribute supplies, including masks, hand sanitizer and thermometers, to workers beginning this week.

食品快递公司随后宣布，计划从本周开始向工人分发口罩、洗手液和体温计等物品。

Workers for other gig companies are also running into hurdles getting the help they've been promised.

其他零工公司的员工在获得承诺的帮助方面也遇到了障碍。

After Uber and Lyft driver Khadim Diop fell ill with a fever and sore throat, he got a letter from New York City's health department saying he must stay home for 14 days.

优步和来福车的司机卡迪姆·迪奥普发烧、喉咙痛，之后他收到了纽约市卫生局的一封信，说他必须在家呆14天。

He showed the letter to both companies to receive sick pay. He hoped it would cover the loss of the roughly $1.000 to $1.500 he says he typically makes per week. He got $250 from Lyft.

他把这封信拿给两家公司看，要求得到病假工资。他希望这笔钱能弥补他每周赚的大约1.000到1.500美元的损失。他从来福车公司得到了250美元。

Uber initially rejected his claim, saying he did not qualify for the company's financial assistance program. Uber said it has paid more than 1.400 claims to U.S. drivers in less than three weeks.

优步最初拒绝了他的要求，称他不符合公司的经济援助计划。优步表示，在不到三周的时间里，它已经向美国司机支付了1400多笔索赔。

But after NPR contacted Uber, the company reversed its decision regarding Diop. It said his claim should not have been rejected. He has now received about $1.700 from Uber to cover the two weeks of work he's missed.

但在美国国家公共电台(NPR)联系优步之后，优步改变了有关迪奥普的决定。它说他的要求不应该被拒绝。现在，他已经从优步那里得到了约1700美元，以弥补他错过的两周工作。