U.S. Chamber calls for uniformity to identify essential workers & functions

Are you wondering what constitute an essential worker or essential service? So is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The national chamber has called for renewed focus on a uniform approach to identifying essential workers and functions as a patchwork of guidance has emerged domestically and internationally amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “The coronavirus is a global threat, and the lack of clarity on essential workers and functions at both the state level and across the globe is impeding efforts to respond to this crisis,” the organization said in a statement.

To help highlight these issues and provide resources to help businesses and workers, the chamber has released two resources to navigate these challenges.

The first resource is a tool that tracks individual states’ “stay at home” guidance and maps it to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security guidance by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The Essential Workforce Tracker aims to help businesses understand the various orders that have been issued, as it impacts the critical infrastructure and critical functions that the workforce uses.

“As more states issue their own ‘stay at home’ guidance amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of clarity around what constitutes ‘critical’ and ‘essential’ business and workers and the lack of uniformity in guidance hurts efforts to respond quickly,” said Christopher Roberti, senior vice president for cyber, intelligence and supply chain security policy for the chamber. “There is an urgent need for a uniform approach to identifying which workers and functions are deemed essential and we urge states to follow a uniform model and provide guidance to state and local law enforcement, employers, and employees.”

The U.S. Chamber also recognizes that the coronavirus is a global challenge that requires global engagement and solutions, Roberti said.