Waiting to Take a COVID Test With Little Hope for Help
It’s nearly as bad as it’s ever been but you’re on your own now
We’re hoping to dodge a bullet. Again. Well, a hypothetical bullet. The bullet of COVID tearing through your life and plans.
My son spent a few hours the other morning working alongside someone who thought he had allergies because he has allergy attacks all the time. When the cough got bad, the coworker left work and went to take a COVID test. He’s positive. We don’t know what variant, but it hardly matters.
You have to wait at least a couple of days before taking a test after being exposed, but you can’t work. In our state, and most others, L&I won’t pay for the first three days of an illness contracted on the job. So hourly workers are screwed. A minimum of three unpaid days really hurts when you’re working a low-paid job.
You can get paid for sick time if you have enough accrued and if you have an employer who offers it. And you won’t have much accrued if you’ve only been working at a job for a few months. In our state and our city it’s mandated and you accrue one hour for every 40 worked. Lots of states don’t have any laws on sick time. The Department of Labor actually has a line in a help section for employers that states they might want to consider offering a sick…
