Tradition is a hard thing to break, and in some industries, it is proving especially difficult during the coronavirus lockdown that is affecting most of the world. Take for example, the banking industry, which the government has deemed an essential service. Banking has long relied on face-to-face meetings and handshakes to close deals as well as sophisticated IT to conduct billion dollar deals. It is also known as an industry with a culture that requires employees to put in Herculean hours to demonstrate their commitment to the goal of making money.
The New York Times reported on April 9 that in Bank of America's global markets division, which has ramped up its hard-working culture, bankers on the global markets desk have been under steady pressure to continue coming into work, even if they are sick or if other people on the desk are known to be sick. The decision they have to make is between putting their health at risk and putting their job at risk.
But this is not an issue confined to the white collar financial services industry. In nearly every industry considered essential, reporters print stories from across the state, country, and world that tell a similar tale: your health or your job. Whether it is Amazon warehouse workers at its JFK8 facility on Staten Island or package sorters and handlers in San Francisco or Manchester, NH or flight attendants who criss-cross the world, many workers are being required to go into work or face serious personal consequences.
A major problem is that there are no uniform procedures and responses for dealing with coronavirus. Company policies have been unevenly introduced and lines of communication are seriously stretched and information gets lost easily. In California, the Los Angeles Times reports, farm workers, many of whom are undocumented and do not speak English or fluent Spanish have had a difficult time staying up to date with company policies about social distancing, hygiene, and what to do if coworkers get sick. Even if a company has a good policy in place, if it's large enough and, like most companies relies on contracting and subcontracting, by the time policies reach workers they can be garbled or non-existent.
Considering that 4 in 5 Americans live paycheck to paycheck and state and federal governments have spent the last 40 years hollowing out our social safety net, the hesitancy to skip work even if you feel unsafe is entirely understandable. Even “Essential Businesses” in NYS, which are allowed to remain open, should be utilizing remote work to the extent possible, and all businesses should be following safety precautions. If you feel unsafe at work, get in touch with us to understand your rights and options.
