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The COVID pandemic isn’t over, and essential Kansas workers still deserve more help
The past year has been challenging, to say the least. Our communities have adapted, made sacrifices and persevered as our country learned more about the coronavirus’ transmission and long-term impact. All the while, front-line workers have ensured that we have had access to medical care, food, shelter, child care, critical infrastructure and other essential services, taking on a disproportionate amount of risk while performing jobs that are disproportionately underpaid.
Toward the beginning of the pandemic, we celebrated these workers for their bravery through donated meals, social media tributes and public displays of support. But this gratitude — which has collectively waned as pandemic fatigue has settled in — is not enough. The Kansas Legislature will likely soon consider appropriating aid for small businesses affected by the pandemic. Essential front-line workers deserve compensation for the risk they have assumed and continue to assume on behalf of all Kansans. Leaders in Topeka must not leave them behind.
That’s why I’ve introduced the Frontline Service Pay Act, which establishes a hazard pay program for Kansas workers and provides swift relief for workers on the front lines of the pandemic who make less than $25 per hour.
While some businesses provided premium pay to essential workers in the spring and summer of last year, estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that more than 63% of COVID-19 deaths occurred after September 2020, well beyond the expiration of most premium pay programs. Despite a worsening health landscape and hostile political climate, these workers have been showing up for Kansans for over a year in challenging conditions. It’s time we show up for them, too.
The American Rescue Plan Act both explicitly authorizes programs like the Frontline Service Pay Act and provides the state with resources to support these workers — with zero cost to Kansas taxpayers and enormous benefit for workers, employers, consumers and the state. The program would help employers recognize the hard work of their employees, improve workplace morale and attract and retain valued employees. And it would help essential workers with the burnout, illness and increased risks to their families.
Despite all of the reasons for Kansans to feel hopeful that the end of the pandemic is in sight, essential businesses and employees are near the end of their rope. Without essential workers, our state cannot function. Without hazard pay, these essential workers cannot afford the toll on their mental and physical health this work takes.
Kansas is on track to provide vaccines to the general public by May 1, and our state has already administered more than 1 million doses. But we should not mistake our optimism for normalcy. Kansans are still being infected with this virus, and those in high-contact settings remain the likeliest to contract the disease. In providing relief funds for these low-paid yet essential workers, we can help keep the economy running, reward work in high-risk settings and provide front-line workers much-needed relief.
I look forward to working with Gov. Laura Kelly and Republican leadership to include the Frontline Service Pay Act in this year’s budget. Kansas workers and businesses are counting on us to put partisanship aside and finally get Kansas over the pandemic’s finish line — together.
Democratic Kansas Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes of Lenexa represents District 21.
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