Fast Facts for May 11, 2021
If you don’t have a ride to get a covid19 vaccine – the White House wants to fix that.
Today – the Biden Administration announced a partnership with Uber and Lyft to get you to and from nearby vaccine sites for little or no cost.
According to the president — people who want to use the program would need to select a vaccination site near them and then redeem an offer code for the ride. The two ride-sharing firms will promote the offer in their apps.
There are more than 80,000 vaccine sites nationwide, and Lyft has already said it will offer $15 “ride codes” each way for the riders. Lyft says that should cover all or almost all of the round trip. Those codes will be available by the May 24. Uber has not disclosed the specifics of its program yet but in December committed 10 million free or discounted rides to vaccine appointments.
Some states have similar programs in place, but this rolls out the program nationwide.
The feature will be rolled out in the next two weeks and will run through July fourth.
Announcement from the White House here.
Statement from Lyft here.
PLUS
It may be more difficult –for some – to stay on unemployment benefits if they haven’t been actually looking for work or have turned down suitable work.
The president said “we’re going to make it clear that anyone collecting unemployment who is offered a suitable job must take the job or lose their unemployment benefits.” plain and simple.
The White House is also directing the Labor Department to work with states on reimposing work-search requirements for Americans collecting UI benefits. The work-search requirement has always been part of qualifying for unemployment, but in some states, enforcement has been lax because of the pandemic. Well, no more.
Under current law, workers are not allowed to turn down a job and continue receiving benefits because of a “non-specific concern” about the virus. Workers can only turn down suitable work if they meet certain criteria such as having a child who cannot go to school because of the pandemic, or because the job being offered does not adhere to health requirements. But any safety violation being alleged must be documented and reported.
This comes after a lot of anecdotal stories from business owners saying they can’t find people to fill open jobs positions combined with a disappointing jobs report last week. The president maintains he does not see evidence that the generous federal u-i benefits are the singular reason for Americans not going back to work.
White House statement on this plan here.
