# Oregon Dept. of Revenue defines Uber Eats drivers as Uber employees (not independent contractors)



## pmpdx18 (Aug 28, 2021)

I am new to this forum. I suspect this topic is likely reviewed elsewhere.

I started driving for Uber Eats in late August 2021 after being laid off from my employer. To prepare for my business as an independent contractor:

1. I purchased a city business license ($30)
2. I registered my business with Oregon Secretary of State ($100)
3. I passed the exam to obtain my Oregon Food Handlers Certificate ($25)
4. I notified my auto insurance provider of the opportunity (no change in rates until Jan. 2022)

Also in August, I began receiving unemployment benefits through the State of Oregon due to my layoff, and regularly reported my Uber Eats income as part of the weekly report.

In early September I decided to apply for State of Oregon: Unemployment - Self Employment Assistance (SEA).

This is a special program where people receiving unemployment benefits will *not* have their benefit reduced if they start their own business. Any income generated through the business will not reduce the unemployment check. Nice idea!!

Unfortunately, my application for Self Employment Assistance program was denied. The rules are defined by Oregon Dept. of Revenue, and they ruled my Uber Eats income was "wages" from an employer. Wages from employers are not allowed to reduce unemployment benefits.

This became way too confusing for me. I stopped driving for Uber Eats on 9/22/2021.

Just wondering...is anyone else concerned about the relationship between Uber Eats and its delivery drivers?


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## Seamus (Jun 21, 2018)

This question is very specific to Oregon. You may want to try posting this to the "Portland" sub forum under US Cities to see if someone there has ever dealt with this issue.


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## pmpdx18 (Aug 28, 2021)

Thank you. I will move this discussion to the Portland forum.


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