The paid leave mandate has been a lifeline for Raygun and other small businesses attempting to weather the pandemic without dismissing workers who fall sick or get exposed to the virus. Low-wage workers are especially vulnerable, since a sizable portion of them are not entitled to any paid sick leave: While 87% of the top 10% of private-sector wage earners have paid sick days, only 27% of the bottom 10% of workers do, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Fast Company
January 5, 2021
Approximately 25.7 million workers in the U.S. remain unemployed, out of work due to the pandemic, or have experienced a reduction in work hours or pay, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Investopedia
January 5, 2021
Younger people who still have jobs are least likely to have the option of telecommuting, according to a report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), losing out on a large added measure of protection from the virus, not to mention the cost savings of not having to commute.
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“Not only have many young people in this country faced the harsh reality of returning to school without in-person classes at their colleges and high schools, the job prospects for those seeking employment have been particularly bleak,” economists at the left-leaning EPI said in a recent report.
CBS Moneywatch
January 5, 2021
Lack of guidance from OSHA is also a barrier for workers bringing lawsuits, said Heidi Shierholz, senior economist and policy director at the Economic Policy Institute.
While the agency has the authority to implement an emergency temporary standard to protect health and safety, OSHA has cited hundreds of companies for alleged Covid-19 safety violations largely under respiratory rule violations and the general duty clause, which requires companies to keep workplaces free from hazards.
“Giving businesses total immunity will create more unsafe workplaces,” she said, noting that corporations would have extremely limited financial incentive to keep workers safe. “I don’t expect an avalanche of lawsuits, but it will strip workers of their chance to keep their workplace safe during a pandemic.”
Bloomberg Law
January 5, 2021
From January through October for the 20 states that will raise their minimum wages one economist at the Economic Policy Institute said redistributing money for the lowest paid workers is smart policy because they are the workers who will spend it that will ultimately help the economy.
CNN International
January 4, 2021
When you look at numbers like the unemployment rate looking like it’s doing better at 6.7%, the truth is the Economic Policy Institute and others think the true number is closer to 11.2%.
MSNBC Andrea Mitchell Reports
January 4, 2021
An unprecedented level of online shopping means unprecedented levels of shipping so spare a thought for your friendly neighborhood postal worker who has had quite a year. Remember just a couple of months ago that the United States Postal Service, despite budget cuts and last minute dismantling of sorting machines, processed more than 65 million mail-in ballots for the election. The agency is now promising extraordinary measures for the Georgia Senate runoffs and according to the Economic Policy Institute the people carrying on all of that mail are more likely to be Black and veterans than those working in the private sector.
Marketplace
January 4, 2021
Nationally, the federal minimum wage has not been raised since 2009, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
Atlanta Journal Constitution
January 4, 2021
The left-leaning Economic Policy Institute called the 11-week extension of PUA and PEUC benefits in a recent news release “wholly insufficient and guarantees millions will exhaust benefits by the middle of March, when the virus will still be surging and job openings will still be scarce relative to the number of job seekers.”
Detroit Free Press
January 4, 2021