Hoffman Quoted in International Business Times About Whether COVID-19 Pandemic Will Create Lasting Changes in Employer-Employee Relationships

Partner Carrie Hoffman was quoted in the International Business Times article, “Coronavirus Economy: Will The Pandemic Change Employer-Employee Relationships? What Experts Had To Say.” The article noted that the pandemic has already redefined the role of an essential worker and what constitutes fair compensation for certain jobs now taking on greater importance, but questions whether those dynamics and others impacting labor will outlast the pandemic.

Hoffman told IBT that she doesn’t think benefit expansion and wage hikes to last. Employers are not likely to be increasing benefits in these strained financial times. For employers who do not provide sick leave benefits, it seems unlikely that they will be increasing benefits,” Hoffman said. “The sick leave available under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act are limited in time and eligibility.”

As for bonuses and increased wages to guarantee people would continue to work, Hoffman predicted that would disappear because of the high unemployment level once the economy emerges from the crisis.