From a Bay Area Worker
This crisis has turned our whole lives upside down. Schools are now closed until the end of the year. Many of us now have to stay home to provide daycare and home schooling.
For those of us who don’t have jobs deemed essential, it means we can’t come into work. In some cases this time off is taken from our PTO, in other cases it is unpaid. Taking time off due to the crisis should not come at the expense of our pay checks or the accrued time we have on the books! We are eligible to get paid time off. We are eligible for up to 10 weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave if we are taking care of our children, amongst other things. (Click here for a list of benefits that the Federal government has put in place since the crisis started.)
We know these benefits aren’t nearly enough and we will have to fight for more. But we have to stand strong and not let management intimidate us or hide the benefits we are entitled to.
Featured image credit: Helloquence / Unsplash
