Walmart is described as being uniquely positioned to benefit during the pandemic through its business, however, 347,000 of its employees do not have sick paid leave or do not take advantage of it.
Based on 2018-2019 survey data, The Shift Project published a report on what paid sick leave access looks like across the largest companies in the US. Many of the workers most affected, including fast-food and grocery workers, are the ones who have the most contact with people, posing a great health concern.
Employers' responses to COVID-19 have varied, with some implementing paid sick leave policies while others asking employees to take weeks of unpaid leave. Adding to this instability is the volatile schedules that many service sector workers experience which makes accessing social services even more challenging.
The New York Times published Shift data on paid sick leave at large national chains, revealing which companies provide paid sick leave to their frontline workers, and which do not.
