Instacart Shoppers Pose Risk Without Sick Leave, San Diego Says

(Bloomberg) --

Instacart Inc. must treat its shoppers as employees, and provide protections such as sick leave, otherwise they put themselves and others at risk during the coronavirus pandemic, the city of San Diego said.

City Attorney Mara W. Elliott asked California’s appeals court Friday to immediately reinstate a judge’s order requiring the company to treat the workers as employees rather than independent contractors. The judge who issued the injunction last month put it on hold while Instacart appeals.

“Without the ability to use paid sick leave and in need of income as low-wage workers, infected shoppers will likely continue working and risk spreading Covid-19 to others,” Elliott said in the request. “The risk is heightened given that shoppers are in an environment where Covid-19 is more likely to spread -- busy grocery stores where social distancing is less practical.”

Instacart said this week it will hire 300,000 more shoppers in the coming months, including 54,000 in California, as demand for its services has exploded. Millions of Americans are under stay-at-home orders because of the coronavirus pandemic and many have resorted to using grocery delivery services to avoid trips to the supermarket.

Instacart said the city attorney is putting residents of San Diego at risk.

“Instacart is providing an essential service for millions of customers across the country who are relying on the company to deliver their groceries and household goods,” the company said in an emailed statement. “This legal action does a true disservice to the thousands of people in San Diego who count on the Instacart platform every day for immediate, flexible earnings opportunities.”

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