City Council Member Brad Lander – who helped establish a minimum pay standard for NYC app-based drivers in 2018 – is pressing for legislation that would mandate paid sick leave policies for the multitude of “gig economy” workers throughout the city, according to POLITICO.

As the Coronavirus outbreak has brought New York City to a standstill, workers transporting people and food have shouldered the burden of delivering essential services to homebound residents – even as they themselves face increased risk of exposure to the deadly virus. According to Lander, these workers are covered neither by NYC’s 2014 sick leave law, nor by the federal paid sick leave legislation passed on Wednesday.

Richard Blum, a staff attorney in The Legal Aid Society’s Employment Law Unit, expressed support for the bill. “We must pass meaningful legislation so that the people whose labor helps keep our city running are protected when they most need it,” he said. “As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to grow, these individuals will be among the most impacted and the least protected.”