Over 250 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures this year according to the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group. At least 35 of these bills would affect gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth, and at least 69…
International travel for Americans could open up in some countries this summer
With summer almost upon us and families looking to travel for vacation, countries around the world are still wary about letting international travelers across their borders. But recent statements from the European Commission, as well as signs from some other…
Bipartisan legislation aims to strengthen U.S. competitive position against China
A bipartisan effort in the Senate has produced two pieces of legislation to increase government investment in American technology and industry to counter economic and strategic challenges from China. “I believe that China today, led by the Communist Party and…
Essential and Exposed
At the height of the pandemic, workplace safety systems often failed to protect workers considered essential to keeping key goods and services flowing. This series examined those failures by telling the stories of workers at Walmart, the nation’s largest employer; of foreign workers brought legally to the U.S. to pick crabs and process oysters in the Mid-Atlantic; of poultry workers in Arkansas’ chicken and turkey processors; and of health department workers who were overwhelmed by the demands on their offices in Massachusetts. The package, a collaboration among UMD, Boston University, the University of Arkansas and Stanford University, also includes a podcast telling the stories of airport workers, many behind the scenes, who risked their health to keep airplanes flying.
US deems migrant seafood workers ‘essential’ but limits their COVID-19 protections
Migrant seafood-processing workers, who are legally hired and transported to the U.S. each season through the federal H-2B visa program, face heightened risks of catching COVID-19.
Podcast: Airport workers faced COVID risks as airlines advertised passenger safety measures
Conversations about the safety of air travel have largely left airport workers out. The choice of whether or not to fly in a pandemic is a question of community safety and how the decision affects people with the least protection. Meet some of them in the Howard Center podcast In The Air.
At least 9,000 Arkansas workers caught COVID-19 as pandemic overwhelmed regulators, companies
In working conditions that stress a quick turnaround on products, have close contact between employees and brisk temperatures, poultry workers say they were put at risk for catching the virus.
Massachusetts health departments overwhelmed, unprepared to protect workers
With federal regulators missing from the field and state leaders scrambling to manage the COVID-19 crisis, Massachusetts’ 351 overtaxed local boards of health were unwittingly thrust into a new role last year — overseers of workplace safety.
As Walmart sales soared, workers got scant COVID-19 protection from OSHA
Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, provides a window into OSHA’s performance during the pandemic.
Baltimore reimbursement program leaves residents burdened with sewage backup costs
Natasza Bock-Singleton could smell it from where she was sitting in her home office in the basement. She could hear it too — a gurgling sound, coming from the bathroom. She got up to find out what was going on.…