unemployment benefits

Some states show alarming spike in women’s share of unemployment claims

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Statistics obtained by The Fuller Project from several states show that the share of people who filed new unemployment claims who were women during the last two weeks of March surged from an estimated 13 to 35 percentage points above the norm for those states. Elizabeth Holt lost her waitressing job at an Applebee’s in San Antonio, Texas on March 23, a few days after the mayor made all restaurants carry-out and delivery only in order to curb the spread of coronavirus. Holt was the main provider for her blended family of eight. Her husband, a part-time dishwasher at the same restaurant, lost his job the same day. “I have always, even as a server, paid all our bills on time, and was able to spoil our kids and give them what they needed,” Holt said.

agriculture

Lack of Federal Heat Protections For Outdoor, Farm Workers Draw Advocates’ Ire

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On a summer morning near Dayton, Ohio, a temporary worker began his first day with a commercial roofing company around 6:30 a.m.

Mark Rainey, 60, was assigned to a crew to rip off and dispose of an old bank-building roof. Within hours, as the heat index reached 85 degrees, his co-workers noticed the new guy was “walking clumsily,” then became ill and collapsed, according to documents from the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration. Rushed to the hospital on Aug. 1, 2012, Rainey was diagnosed with heat stroke and a core body temperature of 105.4 degrees; he died three weeks later. For the next 6 ½ years, the circumstances surrounding Rainey’s death became a vigorously fought battle between his employer and OSHA, highlighting the lack of a clear standard on heat protection for outdoor workers.