Who are the Essential and Frontline Workers?

Blau, Francine D.; Koebe, Josefine; Meyerhofer, Pamela

doi:10.3386/w27791

Cited by 62 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 1 publication

(3 reference statements)

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“…Groups at higher risk of contracting the virus or experiencing severe illness include essential workers, older adults, and adults with chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, hypertension, and cancer [ 9 , 10 ]. Essential workers perform vital functions for society and work in industries that include healthcare, transportation, defense, information technology, food and agriculture, and public works, among others [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Essential workers are disproportionately likely to be less educated and Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and to earn lower wages than workers in other industries [ 10 , 11 , 16 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Essential workers perform vital functions for society and work in industries that include healthcare, transportation, defense, information technology, food and agriculture, and public works, among others [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Essential workers are disproportionately likely to be less educated and Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and to earn lower wages than workers in other industries [ 10 , 11 , 16 ]. Some essential workers experienced job loss due to reduced operations during the pandemic, which put these workers at greater risk of both contracting the virus and experiencing a loss of income due to the pandemic [ 3 , 10 , 11 , 17 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Essential workers are disproportionately likely to be less educated and Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and to earn lower wages than workers in other industries [ 10 , 11 , 16 ]. Some essential workers experienced job loss due to reduced operations during the pandemic, which put these workers at greater risk of both contracting the virus and experiencing a loss of income due to the pandemic [ 3 , 10 , 11 , 17 ]. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that COVID-19 infection and deaths in the U.S. have been disproportionately high among BIPOC [ 18 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of Employment, Essential Work, and Risk Factors on Food Access during the COVID-19 Pandemic in New York State

Clay

Rogus

2021

IJERPH

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The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted food systems and the economy in the U.S. and abroad. This cross-sectional study examined the direct and indirect impacts of COVID-19 on food access among low-income and Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in New York State. New York residents were recruited to complete a web-based survey through Qualtrics. The survey took place in May and June 2020 and asked participants about COVID-19 health impacts, risk factors, and food access. Chi-square analysis examined issues with food access experienced by demographic characteristics, work disruptions, health impacts, and household risk for contracting the virus and experiencing severe illness, and significant results were analyzed in a series of logistic regression models. After accounting for covariates, Hispanic respondents, those with likely Major Depressive Disorder, and essential workers were more likely to experience worse food access during COVID-19. Improved policies and services to address impacts on vulnerable populations such as BIPOC, those suffering from mental health disorders, and workers in lower-paying essential jobs can reduce the risk of food access issues at this time. Future research can identify how food access issues during the pandemic influenced diet quality, chronic disease risk and infection, and persistence of food access issues.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of Employment, Essential Work, and Risk Factors on Food Access during the COVID-19 Pandemic in New York State

Clay

Rogus

2021

IJERPH

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“…We do not consider whether occupations are classified as essential or subject to lockdown because there has been enormous variation across states, localities, and time period in definitions and their application during the pandemic. For example, janitors, maids, bus drivers, retail sales workers, and personal care workers would not be classified as essential according to industry guidelines issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) [13], yet many individuals in these occupations have likely been working away from home much or most of the time since March, 2020.…”

Section: Frontline Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During the pandemic, many workers have been sheltered from occupational exposure to infection by working remotely, e.g., from home. To distinguish between workers who are more vs. less able to work remotely, studies have used varying criteria to define “essential” and/or “frontline occupations.” In this analysis, we include only occupations classified as “frontline” based on the definition offered by Dingel and Neiman [21] and used by Blau et al [13]: occupations in which one-third or fewer workers can feasibly work from home, ascertained from responses to 15 questions in O*NET. A total of 249 out of 409 occupations in our analysis are considered frontline according to these criteria.…”

Section: Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Racial and ethnic differentials in COVID-19-related job exposures by occupational standing in the US

Goldman

Pebley

Lee

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Researchers and journalists have argued that work-related factors may be partly responsible for disproportionate COVID-19 infection and death rates among vulnerable groups. We evaluate these claims by examining racial and ethnic differences in the likelihood of work-related exposure to COVID-19. We extend previous studies by considering 12 racial and ethnic groups and five types of potential occupational exposure to the virus: exposure to infection, physical proximity to others, face-to-face discussions, interactions with external customers and the public, and working indoors. Most importantly, we stratify our results by occupational status, defined as the proportion of workers within each occupation with some college education. This measure serves as a proxy for whether workplaces and workers employ significant COVID-19-related risk reduction strategies. We use the 2018 American Community Survey to identify recent workers by occupation, and link 409 occupations to information on work context from the Occupational Information Network to identify potential COVID-related risk factors. We then examine the racial/ethnic distribution of all frontline workers and frontline workers at highest potential risk of COVID-19, by occupational status and by sex. The results indicate that, contrary to expectation, White frontline workers are often overrepresented in high-risk jobs while Black and Latino frontline workers are generally underrepresented in these jobs. However, disaggregation of the results by occupational status shows that, in contrast to Whites and several Asian groups, Latino and Black frontline workers are overrepresented in lower status occupations overall and in lower status occupations associated with high risk, and are thus less likely to have adequate COVID-19 protections. Our findings suggest that greater work exposures likely contribute to a higher prevalence of COVID-19 among Latino and Black adults and underscore the need for measures to reduce potential exposure for workers in low status occupations and for the development of programs outside the workplace.

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Economic Vulnerability of Households With Essential Workers

McCormack¹,

Avery²,

Spitzer

et al. 2020

JAMA

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The label of "essential worker" reflects society's needs but does not mean that society has compensated those workers for additional risks incurred on the job during the current pandemic. When an essential worker contracts severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), they pose a risk to the other members of their household. These members may be elderly or lack health insurance, and the household may have limited resources to care for a sick family member. 1,2 We assessed the proportion of essential workers in the US population and described the economic vulnerability of their households. Methods | We analyzed data from the Public Use Microdata Sample of the 2018 American Community Survey (ACS). The US Census Bureau chooses a random sample of US addresses each month, contacts selected households by mail, and follows up by phone and personal visit to address nonresponse. 3 The Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released an "Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce" advisory list of occupations necessary to "continuity of functions critical to public health and safety" in March 2020 and updated that list in April 2020. 4 We matched industry and subindustry codes in the ACS to the 6-digit Standard Occupation Codes (indexed by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics) in the CISA advisory list to identify essential workers. 5 We assessed the proportion and demographic characteristics (age, sex, and race as given in response to a multiplechoice question) of essential workers by industry.

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Who are the Essential and Frontline Workers?

Cited by 62 publications

References 1 publication

Impact of Employment, Essential Work, and Risk Factors on Food Access during the COVID-19 Pandemic in New York State

Impact of Employment, Essential Work, and Risk Factors on Food Access during the COVID-19 Pandemic in New York State

Racial and ethnic differentials in COVID-19-related job exposures by occupational standing in the US

Economic Vulnerability of Households With Essential Workers

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