Workers Question ‘Are We Essential or Disposable?’

As more essential employees test positive following exposures in the workplace, management often fails or refuses to tell them who has tested positive and where, leaving workers on edge about their own exposure and wondering if they are essential or just disposable.

Essential workers are not only dealing with a lack of protective work practices, inadequate personal protective equipment, a lack of sanitizing supplies, but also a state of constant fear : Who has the virus? Did I work with them? Was I exposed, and am I taking it home to my family? Can I trust management to tell me about my risks and exposures?

There are no laws that specifically require an employer to alert workers about a positive COVID19 case in the workplace, or even if they have potentially been exposed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Pennsylvania government officials have issued guidelines suggesting that exposed workers be warned, but enforcement is murky at best.

Willig, Williams & Davidson’s Nan Lassen shares her experience with workers’ rights and workers themselves. Noting that workers, if asked for permission, typically want their identity to be known so their coworkers can know if they’ve been exposed in order to protect themselves and their families. Unions also have a right under the National Labor Relations Act to request information from management in order to monitor and protect safe working conditions for their members, Lassen adds. The activism of labor unions during the COVID19 pandemic has been a critical protection for workers, especially in crisis workplaces like nursing homes, meat packing plants, and prisons, where WWD attorneys have also been on the front line.

To read the full article, visit the Philadelphia Inquirer.

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