The pandemic has made many people realize the importance of medical professionals, janitors, cleaning service providers, farmworkers, food processing plant workers, grocery staff, and other workers who now risk COVID-19 infection to service the public for their essential needs.

The widespread lockdowns in the United States had helped define those who are providing essential goods and services to the people, giving an emphasis whose jobs support the general public. These workers are exposed to an unseen enemy that the world had not created a cure or vaccine yet to go against it.

During the pandemic, many of those who worked in the front lines had been granted temporary hazard pay and other benefits by their employers. However, this may be ending soon as the country slowly reopens businesses to jumpstart the economy and easing lockdown orders to the public. But the coronavirus is still on the loose, it still poses a serious threat to public health. What happens to workers who are at a high risk of virus exposure after losing their hazard pay?

Based on an article, labor unions are expressing their concerns for workers whose health is at risk due to the coronavirus despite the reopening of the economy and easing of lockdown orders. It means that the risk of the health of many workers entitles them to hazard pay.

What is Hazard Pay?

According to the website of the U.S. Department of Labor or DOL, hazard pay is pay given in addition to the basic pay of employees whose nature of jobs poses a threat to their safety while at work. Also, the website reveals that even if workers are provided with personal protective equipment for work, they are still at risk of getting sick or getting hurt from doing their work. Just like in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite lockdown orders being lifted and economies being reopened, many workers are still at risk of the novel coronavirus despite being provided with personal protective equipment.

However, an article reveals that no law in the country requires business owners to provide hazard pay to their employees. Instead, it is a type of employee benefit that many labor union converse with company management to be granted to employees who deserves the additional remuneration due to the nature of their work.

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The Government's Help

An article states that the federal government help addresses the issues with giving out hazard pay to employees through a $200 billion fund from the government's $3 trillion stimulus package which was included in a bill that was passed on May 15. The fund will be given to employers that employ essential workers. It was a fund to provide hazard pay to those who are putting their health at risk from SARS-CoV-2, a virus that causes COVID-19.