Job Security During The Coronavirus

Gustavo Contreras/Contributing Writer

The coronavirus is doing more than endangering our health—it’s invading our financial security. 

Plenty of corporate and local businesses worldwide have closed down due the pandemic, but people still need to pay their bills. Unfortunately, those who are still employed in public areas may not just be more at-risk for the virus; their promised job hours might be cut down for low customer activity.

You don’t need to take an economics class to understand that less sales means less people working. Employees are already being laid off due to the coronavirus with some layoffs as close as Orlando.

Corporations may be able to sustain the economic hit by laying off workers, cutting hours and having backup finances, but low/middle-class workers and students don’t have that golden parachute to bail them out.

FIU employees who are unable to work due to a family care emergency have to use accrued leave or leave without pay to account for time away from work, without supervisor’s approval.

In times of pandemic, it should be a human right to put safety over profits. Government-backed paid emergency leave should be accessible for all employees. 

On Saturday, March 14, the U.S. government passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which promises paid emergency leave with two weeks of paid sick leave and up to three months of paid family and medical leave. It sounds magnificent, if it were not for one major flaw: the act does not require businesses with 500 or more employees to enforce such paid leave.

Local Miami-Dade residents have already begun voicing their opinion with a petition to close down Dolphin Mall amid health concerns. The mall decided to stay open despite being visited by a shopper who tested positive for the virus, prompting employees to question the safety of their work environment.

Although shutting down the mall is necessary, we should go further and also request that those who are scheduled to work are paid. 

With the paid time off system, sick leaves and emergency days, many workers wonder where they fit in the gray area and if their hours will be covered. When I was employed under Sawgrass Mills Mall during Hurricane Irma in 2017, some co-workers were still paid on days that the mall was closed. 

Understandably, being covered a few hurricane days sounds plausible, but if the government were to arrange a plan with CEOs of businesses, national workers’ compensation could be covered for weeks. President Trump has already met with retail CEOs in person to discuss the pandemic, too.

The way that the United States is responding to the worldwide pandemic is comparable to other countries, but the country needs to do more for its valuable residents. 

Featured image by GotCredit on Flickr.

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