Welcome to the weekly roundup from Berke-Weiss. This July Fourth weekend seems to be a make-or-break one for the US as Covid cases spike across the south and west and significant portions of the country put the brakes on reopenings or have issued reversals. Although the June employment totals indicate some positive growth, they do not reflect the recent reversals and a further 1.5 million people applied for unemployment. Here in New York, the governors of the tri-state area have formalized a quarantine for visitors from the hardest hit states while also mooting any chance of indoor dining in the foreseeable future, which mounting research indicates is a significant source of potential infection. From everyone here, we encourage you to have a safe and socially distant holiday weekend. Now on to the stories we’ve been following this week.
For Moms Is It Work or Childcare?
All evidence indicates that this is going to be one of the huge questions as the US attempts to restart the economy. For many mothers, the tunnel is receding on reentering the workforce. School is over and major questions remain about fall reopenings, the private daycare industry is in shambles, nannies are getting even more expensive and, as we’ve highlighted in our round-up of FFCRA lawsuits, one of the common complaints is employers who refuse to make sufficient allowances for parents who don’t have childcare options. As Meredith Bodgas points out, this scenario has the potential to open up an even larger gender pay gap as women are commonly the ones to sacrifice their jobs for childcare. Writing in Working Mother, Bodgas reports that the already existing pay gap means that when forced to make this economic decision, men, who make more, are more likely to remain at work while women exit the workforce and that leaving the workforce will have detrimental effects on long-term employability for mothers.
No Zoom Meetings for Essential Workers
While trying to juggle a job and parenting from home may be tough, most essential workers do not have even that luxury. This is no more true than it is for farm workers across the country, many of whom lack employment protections, have little, if any, access to government aid programs, work elbow to elbow, and often live in cramped spaces. A CNN report shines some light on the plight of the country’s farm workers, who have been deemed “essential” but are still grossly underpaid, exploited, and at serious risk of infection. Some migrant workers are in constant search for new jobs because farms do not provide the most basic PPE to their workers. Farms across the country, including here in New York, have reported large outbreaks at their facilities. This report also questions the received wisdom that rural parts of the country are less vulnerable to infections.
Can Work from Home Really Work?
Finally, in the New York Times this week, we have a report on the history of working from home and it’s not a glowing report. Over the years, many companies have toyed with remote working, and the trend is, for obvious reasons, picking up again, with major companies in banking, health care, and technology considering or having already gone full-remote. As the article reports, companies have had difficulties in implementing workable solutions. Additionally, there are new concerns about an increase in the use of employers spying on their workers, ostensibly under the cover of using productivity technology, such as keystroke monitoring.
