Making Worker Protections Real During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Federal lawmakers are working around the clock to ensure that the economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis does not cause widespread and lasting consequences—debating policies ranging from direct relief to workers and corporate bailouts, to large-scale economic stimulus packages. In order to benefit Americans from all walks of life and ensure that some corporations do not choose to reward shareholders instead of investing in workers, Congress must attach worker protections to these investments and enact policies to ensure the protections are enforced. This column details the importance of such protections and outlines strategies to ensure that any response to the pandemic centers workers.

Coronavirus response bills must protect workers

Already, Congress has passed emergency paid sick days and emergency paid leave protections so that many workers can take time to care for themselves or a family member suffering from the virus. Congress has also included guardrails to ensure that some bailed-out companies respect employees’ right to organize into unions, honor collective bargaining agreements, and don’t engage in massive layoffs—as some have done in the past.

In the coming weeks, policymakers must continue to focus on worker protections as they debate measures to help put Americans back to work. For example, front-line workers involved in health care and emergency child care, as well as those ensuring Americans can obtain essential groceries, must be provided with safe working conditions, decent base wages and hazard pay, and a voice on the job. Moreover, Congress should expand emergency paid sick days and emergency paid leave protections to cover all workers, including those at large and small businesses. Emergency paid leave, which currently allows 12 weeks for parents to care for a child whose school or place of care is closed, should also include paid medical leave and paid caregiving leave to recover from COVID-19 as well as paid leave to care for a disabled adult child or family member whose regular caregiver may have been affected by the coronavirus. Continue reading.