Which Essential Workers Get To Claim Workers Comp?: States Try To Do The Right Thing And Avoid Bankruptcy
Trying to balance the financial and health risks of coronavirus with the need to provide essential services is becoming the latest battleground for labor unions and business groups. While it might be easy in some states for health care workers to file claims, it's not always the same case for other workers finding it hard to prove they got sick on the job. Other reports on health care workers include a behind-the-scene look at a New York City infection unit and RVs becoming temporary homes for physicians on the front lines.
Politico:
States Weigh Workers' Comp For Frontline Workers Against The Cost
State policymakers praising the heroic efforts of frontline workers are quietly making grim calculations about which professions should gain access to lost wages, hospital bills or even burial costs — changes estimated to top $11 billion in California alone. At least five smaller states have made it easier for high-risk workers such as doctors, nurses and firefighters to claim workers' compensation benefits. But broad proposals have run into fierce headwinds in populous, high-cost states like Illinois, California and New York, where businesses and public employers alike warn such changes could thrust them into bankruptcy or force them to slash public services when they're already teetering financially. (Murphy and Landergan, 4/29)
The New York Times:
Inside A NYC Hospital Coronavirus Unit During The Pandemic
There is little respite for the nurses working with coronavirus patients at N.Y.U. Langone Health. Inside the recently opened Kimmel Pavilion in Manhattan, hundreds of patients rest in rooms designed to minimize infection. When the nurses do take a break, a soundtrack of wailing sirens reminds them what lies ahead on their return. On March 10, N.Y.U.’s medical center had just two coronavirus patients. (Gonzalez and Nasseri, 4/29)
Reuters:
RVs Become Temporary Homes For Doctors Caring For COVID-19 Patients
Doctors caring for COVID-19 patients at hospitals across the United States have taken up temporary residence in donated recreational vehicles, parked outside their homes, as a way to keep them near to their families yet isolated. (4/29)
