Publication
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought increased recognition of immigrants’ critical contributions to our communities and economies. Our nation’s immigration policy and safety net programs, however, still do not reflect this reality. Undocumented immigrants are both disproportionately represented among industries experiencing job loss due to the pandemic and essential workers who risk their lives to perform critical work, including caring for our loved ones, keeping our stores stocked and running, and growing, preparing, and delivering our food. While most people facing financial hardship can benefit from government aid, including the federal stimulus payments and unemployment insurance, discriminatory eligibility criteria bar many immigrants from the same access to financial assistance.
Publication
THE NEW YORK STATE EXCLUDED WORKER FUND at last provides a meaningful level of assistance to undocumented workers who have been excluded from major federal pandemic assistance. The $2.1 billion fund creates two tiers of aid. Tier 1 is on a rough par with unemployment insurance and provides $15,600 to undocumented workers who can meet its strict standards of proof of eligibility. Tier 2 pays $3,200 and is on a par with the three rounds of federal stimulus payments ($1,200, $600, and $1,400). Statewide, the Fiscal Policy Institute estimates that 290,000 workers will benefit from the Excluded Worker Fund. That includes 92,000 we estimate will qualify for Tier 1 benefits and 199,000 for Tier 2 benefits.
Publication
The pandemic has revealed Florida’s Unemployment Insurance program (called Reemployment Assistance (RA)) to be replete with outdated policies and procedures that create unnecessary barriers, making it difficult for workers to qualify. Although many Floridians only learned about these barriers during COVID-19, the program has been fundamentally flawed and neglected by lawmakers for years.
Publication
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, millions of Americans have ordered groceries online for the first time. By some estimates, as many as 45% of all households—55.5 million—ordered groceries online for delivery or pickup during August. Major grocery chains have seen their total revenue from online orders double or even triple from last year. Some surveys show as much as 25% of U.S. grocery sales were ordered digitally during the widespread lock-down period in May, and still nearly 12% in August. Many customers, understandably nervous about the health implications of leaving their homes and sharing narrow grocery aisles with other shoppers, are exploring new ways of getting food to their homes. This not only has led to the surge in online grocery ordering, but also provided a stimulus to the struggling meal kit industry and expanded home delivery of prepared foods. For elderly customers and those with vulnerable health conditions, the expansion of these new food ordering and delivery channels literally is a lifeline in the context of the pandemic.
The growth of e-commerce sales for food has increased the number of jobs available at a time when unemployment across the U.S. economy has skyrocketed. Grocery workers now are seen as essential workers, even heroes. At times they even have received extra hazard pay. And yet media reports also are full of stories of ongoing low wages and poor working conditions, severe health risks, and employer retaliation against workers who speak out. These challenges are even greater for grocery and delivery workers hired as independent contractors, who have no legal employment protections, unstable earnings and hours, low levels of access to health insurance, challenges obtaining personal protective equipment, and legal and administrative barriers to accessing unemployment insurance should they not be able to work.
What are the broader implications of the recent surge in grocery e-commerce work? Will these jobs continue to expand beyond the pandemic and, if so, by how much? What kinds of wages and working conditions exist in different segments of the industry? What changes should people in more traditional grocery store jobs anticipate? As grocery e-commerce continues to grow, what options exist to improve working conditions for the workers affected by this trend?