Low-wage essential workers get less protection against coronavirus – and less information about how it spreads
Low-wage essential workers are more likely to face dangerous working conditions and food insecurity than high-wage workers, even more so during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our research provides some of the first data on the safety of essential workers during the pandemic.
Our findings suggest that COVID-19 is not the “great equalizer,” as Andrew Cuomo once called it. In fact, inequality is getting worse.
We found that across income levels, roughly two-thirds of essential workers were unable to practice social distancing. Low-wage essential workers include grocery clerks, home health aides and delivery drivers, while high-wage workers include nurses, doctors and managers.
However, low-wage workers were two to three times more likely than high-wage workers – workers earning over US$40/hour – ...