COVID has been one of the biggest shocks to United States labor in recent history, increasing unemployment from a record 3.5% to 10.2% in July a few short months after the virus hit the country and lockdowns began. During this historic event, our government has worked hard to help its people, including implementing the CARES Act, which the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) aided by publishing 20 Unemployment Insurance Program Letters, hosting 15 webinars, and posting answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on 23 different topics in addition to helping states develop the functionality to make payments in each of their unique systems.
To help implement the CARES Act, the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has expedited its publications, including fact sheets for workers and employers in a dozen languages, infographic posters for workplaces, 97 new FAQs, animated videos, and created an interactive online tool for determining eligibility. Since April, WHD has also hosted 1,100 outreach events through virtual platforms and fielded 250,000 COVID-19-related phone calls.
In response to our nation’s emergency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has also published 19 industry-specific guidance documents, a range of return-to-work guidance, 12 agency alerts, and three posters that have been translated into as many as 17 languages.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Read more about our government’s efforts to protect its people in The Hill article written by Patrick Pizzella, the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor.
