Brad Karp: The Legal Community Must Protect Workers and Small Businesses From Coronavirus Fallout
In this time of fear and isolation, it is imperative that we in the legal profession not lose sight of our professional obligation to help others in need.
March 25, 2020 at 11:05 AM
7 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The American Lawyer
As the leader of a law firm employing more than 1,000 attorneys, and as someone who has helped lead national pro bono initiatives to reunite separated immigrant families, promote gun control, safeguard LGBTQ rights, protect reproductive freedom and secure voter enfranchisement, I am daunted by the carnage our nation is about to confront involving the tens of millions of American workers devastated medically, emotionally and economically by the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. While we fear that the loss of life resulting from this pandemic may be catastrophic, we know for certain that our most vulnerable citizens will be ravaged economically as a result.
In this time of fear and isolation, it is imperative that we in the legal profession not lose sight of our professional obligation to help others in need. While this pandemic will continue to impact all Americans, its devastating economic consequences will not be equally shared. The impacts will be felt most acutely by those in our society who are least able to endure loss. To slow the spread of the virus, states and localities across the country are closing schools, restaurants, bars, retail shops, museums, theaters, libraries, parks, stadiums and other public venues and directing people to stay home—actions that will be catastrophic both to the tens of millions of hourly workers in our country who live paycheck to paycheck, and to small business owners dealing with lost revenue and mounting costs.
The need for help is staggering. The numbers here speak for themselves. More than 50 million Americans earn "low wages," defined as median hourly earnings of $10.22 or less. More than half of all U.S. adults live paycheck to paycheck and do not have an emergency fund covering three months of expenses. And most American businesses do not extend severance pay to employees. Add to these sobering realities the fact that these low-wage employees work predominantly in industries that are among the most catastrophically hurt by the pandemic, including 16 million Americans in the leisure and hospitality industries, 5 million food service workers, and 4.5 million retail clerks. The American Hotel & Lodging Association estimates that 1 million hotel jobs, or nearly one half of the total jobs in the industry nationwide, have already been or will be eliminated in the next few weeks. Every day, the headlines become increasingly dire.
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