Questions From The Front Line

Photo by Alexander Kovacs on Unsplash

As we take our first tentative steps toward reopening, I wonder what will happen to retail, service, and hospitality workers. They do not have the luxury of working from home in order to earn a living. Here are my questions:

1. If a front-line worker (or someone in her household) has an underlying medical condition that places her at heightened risk of dying from COVID-19, will her employer be allowed to terminate her for not immediately returning to work? If so, will she lose her eligibility for unemployment?
2. Are employers obligated to require customers to wear masks, in order to protect their employees? Or is it only important for employees to wear masks, in order to protect their customers?
3. Is the criminal justice system committed to prosecuting all customers for deliberately coughing or spitting on employees when they attempt to enforce mask policies?
4. If employees do not feel safe returning to work, but choose to do it because they cannot afford to lose their job, how are employers preparing to improve morale?
5. Will employers require workers to sign waivers indemnifying against COVID-19 exposure-related lawsuits?
6. Will OSHA or state regulatory agencies protect workers by mandating and enforcing heightened workplace safety practices?

I have more questions, but these are a good starting point for the discussions I hope business and political leaders are having right now. Fingers crossed.