By Jonnelle Marte and Heather Timmons

Reuters

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The spreading coronavirus outbreak poses a double-barreled threat to U.S. workers who face not only the prospect of lost wages if they are forced to stay home during a quarantine but also a fragile safety net to fall back on during such a crisis.

Unlike in other rich countries, the United States provides thin and uneven social assistance for its 130 million full-time workers, and even less for the country’s nearly 30 million part-time employees.

There also are no federal laws requiring companies to provide paid sick leave, or paid time off to care for sick relatives, leaving workers at the mercy of their employers and local governments.

Low-wage and part-time workers in particular are likely to lack some of the workplace benefits that make it possible for them to stay home if they contract the flu-like illness or if they need to care for a family member who becomes sick.

The number of confirmed U.S. cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has jumped to more than 100, and nine people have died in the outbreak, which originated in China late last year.

Economists worry that a large number of quarantined workers could sharply curb consumer spending, the pillar of the U.S. economy, and further widen the gap between the affluent and a working class that already struggles to pay the bills.

“The lack of coverage represents a dual risk for the economy, and will expose rising inequality in the context of this outbreak,” Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, told Reuters.

The U.S. Labor Department says 71% of American workers do not have the option of working from home. Many of those people may work in the services, retail or healthcare sectors, or for companies that don’t provide paid sick leave.

Some 45% of workers surveyed by Prudential Financial in late February said they were worried an outbreak would limit their ability to work and 54% said they were not financially prepared to handle a contagious disease that may limit their ability to work for weeks.

Health officials recommend anyone exposed to COVID-19 be tested and, if infected, self-quarantine to recover and avoid its spread. But many Americans don’t have the option of staying home without sacrificing a chunk of their wages, or losing their job altogether […]

Via https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-economy-analys/fragile-safety-net-leaves-u-s-economy-vulnerable-to-coronavirus-hit