From today’s Boston.com:
Elizabeth Warren says the next coronavirus relief package should âput all workers front and center.â But the Massachusetts senator is also proposing a slate of new protections for those who donât have the luxury of staying at home during the pandemic.
Warren and California Rep. Ro Khanna unveiled an âEssential Workers Bill of Rightsâ on Monday aimed at boosting protections and benefits for the employees most exposed to COVID-19.
Experts say between 49 million and 62 million Americans are employed by industries designated as âessentialâ by the federal government. And while health care employees are viewed to be at the greatest risk of contracting the disease, the list also includes other âfrontlineâ workers whose jobs continue to require them to be in close contact with other people during the outbreak, from grocery store workers and janitors to truck drivers and transportation employees to government and child care workers.
âEssential workers are the backbone of our nationâs response to coronavirus,â said Warren, who has called on Congress to end its weeks-long recess to pass additional legislation in response to the economic and public health crises wrought by the pandemic.
The federal government has issued some guidance for workers in the food retail industry, but Warren and Khanna want Congress to strengthen and expand those policies in the next relief package,
Their âEssential Workers Bill of Rightsâ proposal would require employers to provide all frontline workers with personal protective equipment and robust hazard pay âretroactive to the start date of the pandemic.â It would create a program to require â and reimburse â employers to provide up to 14 days of paid sick leave and 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave during the public health crisis.
Read the complete article here.