By Hadassah Bauerle, CFCC Student Fellow (2019-2020)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the threat of COVID-19 spreading globally, governors across the United States have strongly encouraged citizens to stay home and stay safe.\u00a0 Some states have even issued \u201cshelter in place\u201d orders, by which people are not permitted to leave their homes except for rare \u201cessential\u201d functions.\u00a0 For many people, this means snuggling under a blanket and working on a laptop at home.\u00a0 For others, especially for the one in eight Americans living beneath the poverty line[1]<\/a>, it is not so simple.\u00a0 Nearly five percent of Americans are considered \u201cworking poor,\u201d or individuals who work but still live beneath the poverty line.[2]<\/a>\u00a0 For these people, \u201cshelter in place\u201d orders mean something different than what it means to those privileged enough to comfortably work from home.\u00a0 Many jobs that employ the working poor are considered essential in this pandemic.\u00a0 Even for jobs that are not essential, many employees are unable to work from home.\u00a0 This post takes a look at life for those living near or below the poverty line and how their jobs may be impacted in the current crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Essential businesses<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For jobs that are considered essential, employees do not have the leisure to work from home, but, instead, must report to work as usual.\u00a0 Most government officials agree that trades, such as plumbing and exterminating, as well as grocery stores, gas stations, banks, and laundromats are essential businesses.\u00a0 Restaurants are also not closed, as long as curbside pickup or delivery are offered.\u00a0 Most of these essential jobs have employees who live near or beneath the poverty line.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n For employees still working, many issues arise.\u00a0 The first issue is childcare.\u00a0 With schools closed across the country, and the chance of their reopening this year unlikely, many parents are faced with tough decisions.\u00a0 In Maryland, all childcare facilities are shut down, unless essential employees are sending their children to the facility[3]<\/a>.\u00a0 If a childcare facility \u00a0is not an option, parents are forced to send their children to relatives, who often are grandparents.\u00a0 Sending children to grandparents increases the grandparents\u2019 risk of exposure to the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Essential employees working during this time face an increased risk of exposure to the virus in other ways, as well.\u00a0 For many of the working poor, public transit is their primary method of transportation.\u00a0 This means repeated exposure to public surfaces and multiple people who may be carriers of the virus.\u00a0 For the more privileged Americans with cars, their risk of exposure is lower.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, access to transportation is another hurdle for many essential employees.\u00a0 Prior to the current pandemic, lack of access to reliable transportation was already a major struggle for the working poor[4]<\/a>.\u00a0 Now, it is even more so.\u00a0 In Maryland, although public transportation is still running, the schedule is greatly reduced.\u00a0 Initially, Baltimore City announced that 23 bus routes would be suspended, but after public feedback, this decision was delayed.[5]<\/a>\u00a0 Baltimore\u2019s Metro subway and its light rail are currently running on the reduced weekend schedule, and the MARC commuter trains are also operating less frequently than usual.[6]<\/a>\u00a0 These reduced schedules place anxiety and stress on the people who rely on public transportation to get work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Non-essential jobs that cannot be done from home<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For employees who are not working for essential businesses, they either must work at home or, if they are unable to perform their job from home, they are unable to work.\u00a0 For many of the working poor, this means not working at all.\u00a0 Many jobs, such as theater, stadium, and concert hall employees, are simply not in existence during a time when everyone is engaging in \u201csocial distancing\u201d to protect against infection.\u00a0 Other jobs, such as retail workers and housekeepers, have been curtained by the actions of local governments, and it is impossible to do these jobs from home.\u00a0 Often, in each of these circumstances, \u00a0when employees are not working, they do not get paid.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n For childcare workers, the essential businesses classification creates further questions.\u00a0 Sates have chosen to handle the issue differently, with some states telling all providers to close, and some states telling providers to do everything in their power to remain open.[7]<\/a>\u00a0 For the programs that are still open, data suggest that, across the country, providers lost nearly 70% of their attendance due to \u201csocial distancing\u201d efforts.[8]<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many local governments have classified childcare for essential employees as an essential business.\u00a0 In that situation, childcare facilities can choose whether to remain open and offer childcare for these workers, or they can close and risk financial strain.\u00a0 For the facilities that choose to remain open, they are often still not operating at full capacity.[9]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n For employees who may be lucky enough to have jobs that may be done from home during this time, there are other problems: 10% of Americans, or 33 million people, do not have internet at home.[10]<\/a>\u00a0 While a third of these people live without internet because they do not wish to have internet at home, 19% of people without internet do so because of cost.[11]<\/a>\u00a0 Almost 44% of households that make less than $30,000 a year do not have internet access.[12]<\/a>\u00a0 Many states have attempted to find creative solutions to assist people to gain access to the internet.\u00a0 Various providers across the country have low-income internet options available, and many are offering promotional deals during this time when people are at home and in need of the internet to stay connected to others.\u00a0 For example, in Maryland, Comcast is offering two months of free internet for qualified low-income households due to the coronavirus outbreak.\u00a0 For more information, please visit: https:\/\/internetessentials.com\/covid19#thingstoknow<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unemployment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If a person\u00a0 engages in \u00a0a job that cannot be done from home or operates a non-essential business that has closed due to COVID-19, employees may be temporarily laid off.\u00a0 Last week, a record 3.3 million Americans filed unemployment claims.[13]<\/a>\u00a0 Experts are worried about a \u201ccatastrophic unemployment crisis\u201d after the unemployment numbers rose from 281,000 the week prior.[14]<\/a>\u00a0 The current unemployment rate is the highest that has ever been reported, with the previous record at 695,000 in October 1982.[15]<\/a> \u00a0The Maryland Department of Labor has defined \u201cunemployment\u201d to include \u201ca reduction of both work hours and earnings,\u201d and not merely the loss of a job.[16]<\/a>\u00a0 This definition is important especially for workers who rely on tips for wages, rather than standard hourly wages or a salary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For those in Maryland who are unemployed, the Enoch Pratt library has put together a list of resources.\u00a0 These resources can be found at: https:\/\/www.prattlibrary.org\/research\/tools\/index.aspx?cat=113&id=8370<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n COVID-19 has created a completely new reality for the entire world.\u00a0 For those living near or below the poverty line, this new reality is very difficult.\u00a0 In terms of employment, the working poor are facing tremendous obstacles including working at essential businesses and risking exposure, or being laid off indefinitely, or unemployment.\u00a0 Although everyone can hope that this pandemic and the negative effects end soon, the challenges and subsequent negative consequences the working poor face will not soon disappear.<\/p>\n\n\n [1]<\/a> Pam Fessler, U.S. Census Bureau Reports Poverty Rate Down, But Millions Still Poor<\/em>, National Public Radio (September 10, 2019), https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2019\/09\/10\/759512938\/u-s-census-bureau-reports-poverty-rate-down-but-millions-still-poor<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [2]<\/a> A Profile of the Working Poor, 2016<\/em>, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (July 2018), https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/opub\/reports\/working-poor\/2016\/home.htm<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [3]<\/a> Liz Bowie & Daniel Oyefusi, Maryland Will Close Child Care For All But Essential Workers After Friday to Slow Spread of Coronavirus<\/em>, The Baltimore Sun (March 26, 2020), https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/coronavirus\/bs-md-daycare-closed-20200326-4xjk5ifhc5ahrjglklj25rzr4y-story.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [4]<\/a> Pedro Nicolaci de Costa, There\u2019s a major hurdle to employment that many Americans don\u2019t even think about \u2013 and it\u2019s holding the economy back<\/em>, Business Insider (January 27, 2018), https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/lack-of-transport-is-a-major-obstacle-to-employment-for-americas-poor-2018-1<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [5]<\/a> Jean Marbella, Jeff Barker, and Colin Campbell, Public transit service reduced, new drive-through coronavirus testing sites planned<\/em>, The Baltimore Sun (March 17, 2020), https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/coronavirus\/bs-md-coronavirus-tuesday-20200317-e64ccvxngfbojlr3yh3cm43bke-story.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [6]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n [7]<\/a> Kendra Hurley, The Last Daycare Standing<\/em>, CityLab (March 28, 2020), https:\/\/www.citylab.com\/equity\/2020\/03\/coronavirus-daycare-closed-home-child-care-business-covid-19\/608956\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [8]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n [9]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n [10]<\/a> Samantha Cossick, Who\u2019s not using the internet? Ask the nearly 33 million Americans who aren\u2019t!<\/em>, Allconnect (June 19, 2019), https:\/\/www.allconnect.com\/blog\/33-million-americans-dont-use-internet<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [11]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n [12]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n [13]<\/a> Dominic Rushe and Amanda Holpuch, Record 3.3m Americans file for unemployment as the US tries to contain Covid-19<\/em>, The Guardian (March 26, 2020), https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2020\/mar\/26\/us-unemployment-rate-coronavirus-business<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [14]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n [15]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n [16]<\/a> Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 and Maryland\u2019s Unemployment Insurance Benefits Administration \u2013 Unemployment Insurance<\/em>, Maryland Department of Labor (March 30, 2020), https:\/\/www.dllr.state.md.us\/employment\/uicovidfaqs.shtml<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Hadassah Bauerle, CFCC Student Fellow (2019-2020) With the threat of COVID-19 spreading globally, governors across the United States have strongly encouraged citizens to stay home and stay safe.\u00a0 Some states have even issued \u201cshelter in place\u201d orders, by which people are not permitted to leave their homes except for rare \u201cessential\u201d functions.\u00a0 For many…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4151,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/cfcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/cfcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/cfcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/cfcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4151"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/cfcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/cfcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/cfcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/cfcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/cfcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\n\n