As States Reopen, Workers will Suffer

Today my home state of Texas is officially open for business. Governor Greg Abbott has lifted the stay-at-home order, and is allowing some businesses like movie theaters and hair salons to open back up and service residents. Several states like Iowa and Georgia have done the same, in an attempt to lift the economic slump caused by the pandemic.

This move comes against the warnings and guidance from health officials about best practice for containing Covid-19, and even against official federal guidelines for when states should reopen. Texas actually has an upward trajectory of cases over the last two weeks, as opposed to the two weeks of decline the guidelines recommend. Almost no states have the expanded testing capacity experts say is needed to reopen either. Nonetheless, Abbott has opened Texas for business. It is possible, even likely that this will increase the spread of Covid-19 through the massive state. However, it is unclear how this early opening may affect the economy, and more specifically workers.

In the weeks since waves of shut downs have closed businesses and cut-off any non-essential workers, more than 26 million Americans have applied for Unemployment benefits. Still the majority of Americans polled report they are more worried about the country opening up to early and risking higher infection, than waiting too long to open and hurting the economy. A larger portion of those worried are low-wage workers who are either essential, or now going back to work.

Now as states and businesses begin to resume operation during this pandemic, the question for many of these workers is will they still be able to receive unemployment? Or will they have to return to work and risk their health and that of their families. In most every state Unemployment Insurance Benefits are only available for those who are able and willing to work, and who do not turn down any offers to work for which they are qualified. States reopening have made it clear that fear of Covid-19 is not a valid reason to turn down work if an employer opens for business. This includes the expanded federal unemployment benefits of $600 extra a week. Today there will surely be many workers losing their unemployment benefits as businesses hire them back, even at reduced hours and potentially fer fewer customers.

Governors of these states have also laid out specific exceptions for workers to remain on unemployment even as their jobs resume. Most of these exceptions include people directly affected by the virus, either if they have had Covid-19, or been in contact or living with someone who has been diagnosed, and ordered by a doctor to self-quarantine. However, it also includes parents who have children at home because of shut down schools, who have no other options for child care. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has even stipulated that any workers over the age of sixty-five, or living with somebody over the age of sixty-five will not have to go back to work and be able to continue collecting unemployment.

According to the Governor, this allowance is informed by the fact that 75% of reported Covid-19 fatalities in the state are people of sixty-five years old. Still experts have made clear that it is not just the elderly at risk, but younger people with underlying conditions or who immunocompromised. There is no exception for them under Texas guidelines.

Now as states begin to ease restrictions on social distancing, it does not mean everything will be up and running like normal. Firstly, all of the states currently allowing businesses to open are instituting new safety precautions such as limiting capacity and disinfecting surfaces. However in several workplaces such as factories or restaurants, keeping distance from coworkers is virtually impossible, and the sheer amount of people workers come into contact with throughout the day increases their risk of getting and spreading infection. Many businesses may choose to stay closed. The same is true for cities or municipalities that are more densely populated. As of now the city of Austin has extended its stay-at-home order at least an extra week longer than the state of Texas. However, if the Governor comes into contention with mayors, he has the power to overrule them and end the local stay-at-home orders.

While this lifting of restrictions will not affect all workers, there are many more that will be forced to go back to work or lose their income. Precautions are being taken for most of those workers, but there is no guarantee of safety. There is also no guarantee that, should they get sick because they go back to work, that workers will receive any income or support.

The Family First response bill that passed in mid-March expanded the requirement of businesses to provide paid sick leave to employees. However, even that requirement is limited, with several exceptions. Employers who have fewer than fifty employees are not required to provide any kind of paid sick leave. A report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics also shows that over half of low-wage employees to not receive paid sick-leave. Among those who do have leave, in the lower half of average income, most only receive a week of less of sick days. Employees who work part-time are also, in most states, not necessarily given paid sick-leave. As many businesses will be coming back with limited hours or demand, there may be several employees, if not an entire work-force that will not be eligible for paid leave if they or a loved one get sick. Working part-time hours may also prevent workers from making enough income to get by, but still prevent them from collecting unemployment benefits.

Opening these states back up for business not only risks the entire community, but it particularly puts at risk lower-income, non-white workers. A study by the Center for Economic Policy and Research shows that a majority of essential workers, still working on the front lines of this pandemic are Black and Latino. Minorities make up a large percentage of grocery store workers, delivery drivers and home health care workers. These are people who are still working, putting their lives at risk, and in many cases not eligible for paid benefits, sick-leave or even healthcare if they get sick. The same is true for minimum wage and service industry workers who will now be going back to work as states reopen. Already we are seeing that Covid-19 is affecting communities of color more, with higher mortality rates among black and Latino communities due to social inequity.

These states that are forcing workers back into dangerous conditions removing economic safe-guards and forcing a choice between poverty and illness are death, are only going to exacerbate the inequity that makes communities of color more affected both by this virus and economic crisis. Governors are hoping to ease the economic burden on their state, their taxpayers and the stock market, by risking the lives and livelihoods of those workers that make the economy run. As more educate, affluent workers remain safely working from home, with the capital to weather financial hardship, it is the poorer, browner communities that will suffer the financial and human costs of this mismanaged pandemic.