Low-wage Workers With COVID-19 Find Themselves Facing Catastrophe

• Author: Jeffrey Simmons
• Posted: 2024-01-12

Across the United States, millions of low-wage workers have no access to paid sick leave. Most of these workers are in so-called "right-to-work" states. This means that their employer can fire them for any reason or even no reason at all. No explanation has to be given. Many of these low-wage jobs are in high-risk industries that put people at higher risk for COVID-19 infections. The fast food, retail, service, cleaning, hospitality, childcare, home health services and delivery service industries are just a few of the areas in which people are exposed to dozens or even hundreds of people every day, yet they have no paid sick leave in order to stay home if they get sick from COVID-19. Read on to learn about the plight of these workers and find out how what's happening to them could also happen to you if you get infected with COVID-19.

A Gas Station Worker's Story

On April 28, a gas station and convenience store attendant started to feel sick. Her job was to ring up the purchases of fuel, beer, cigarettes, snacks and lottery tickets of customers. The owner of the gas station didn't provide her with health insurance, and her $14 an hour wage meant that she couldn't afford a doctor's visit bill. The employer wouldn't give her any paid time off without a doctor's note, so she continued working. Her symptoms got worse. On May 9, she went for a free COVID-19 test. The result was positive. Local health department workers required her to quarantine for 14 days, which she did. She sent her results to her employer. She was only released to work after two negative COVID-19 tests in a row. Once she had those, she informed her employer that she could return to work. However, her employer chose to fire her on June 15. This put the single mother of a 10-year-old son in a catastrophic financial situation.

McDonald's Worker Faces Dire Situation

In a similar case, a McDonald's worker became ill and received a positive COVID-19 test result in mid-May. After quarantining for 14 days, she asked her employer to pay her for the time she was out sick. Her request was denied, leaving her without enough money to pay for her monthly expenses. She didn't know that the Families First Coronavirus Response Act required the employer to pay her for the time she was quarantined. Her employer was cited for the violation.

United States Postal Service Workers Denied Leave

The United States Postal Service has incurred the largest number of violations of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. According to the Department of Labor, there are 57 confirmed violations on its record. One postal worker, a letter carrier, applied for 10 weeks of leave in order to care for her seven-year-old child. The worker's babysitter became infected with COVID-19. Childcare centers in her city were shut down because of the pandemic, so she had nobody to care for her child. With summer camps also closed or reduced in capacity, many workers were in the same situation as this other. Her request for leave was denied. While the Families First Coronavirus Response Act provides leave for parents whose school or childcare center is closed, it doesn't specify whether babysitters count as childcare. The letter carrier had 10 days of paid time off accumulated, but that didn't cover the 10-week summer break her child had from school.

What the Families First Coronavirus Response Act Says Employers Need to Do

According to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, employers with 50 or more employees must pay workers for their quarantine time if they get sick with COVID-19. The law also requires employers to provide up to 10 weeks of parental leave at 2/3 of the worker's salary. This is for workers whose childcare centers closed due to the pandemic. The employer gets a tax credit. Some franchise owners with fewer than 50 employees tried to get around the law, but the number of employees is not counted by franchise. Still, small business and self-employed workers aren't covered by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

Violations of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act

The Department of Labor reports that large employers are more likely to violate the Families First Coronavirus Response Act than smaller employers. The top violators have included construction businesses, restaurants, hotels, grocery stores and manufacturing businesses. More than 500 people have filed claims for unpaid wages through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.