Michigan families are scrambling to figure out how they’ll go to work and take care of children no longer going to school.
Governor Whitmer announced this week that K-12 schools will be closed until April 6th. Now, parents without paid sick leave are trying to figure out how to juggle their job and their children.
Danielle McCubbin works in Marquette. McCubbin declined to provide the name of her current employer. She said she’s frustrated by her situation.
“It can be kind of scary when I get sick and need to take a day off but can’t afford to lose the hours and don’t have any vacation time or PTO to use to cover being sick that day.”
McCubbin said she has a four-year-old but lives paycheck to paycheck and can’t miss work for the next three weeks to take care of her.
“I feel like it’s a good idea, there’s just not anything set in place to help that,” she said. “To fix ok well now your kid doesn’t have school for the next three weeks. What are you going to do?”
Governor Whitmer called on employers to step up and work with employees who have childcare needs.
McCubbin said she’s had no word from her employer about what leeway she might get given the crisis.
Some state lawmakers have introduced a package of bills to assist state residents like McCubbin struggling with how to juggle work and childcare as the coronavirus unfolds. The package includes HB5630, 5631, 5632, and 5633 and House Resolution 242.
The legislation would create a coronavirus fund to help employers pay hourly workers who need to stay home because of the coronavirus. The legislation also calls for additional funding from the CDC and Congress.
Democratic State Representative Mari Manoogian is a sponsor on the package. She said the coronavirus fund is important for making sure hourly workers aren’t reporting to work while sick.
“In situations like these we need to make sure people are either at home or if they aren’t feeling well taking that time to see their physician so they can get tested.”
Manoogian declined to say whether the legislation is likely to pass but said she believes her colleagues will begin to understand the importance of the legislation in the coming days.
A spokesperson for the Speaker of the House Lee Chatfield said the Speaker has been focused on appropriations made this week to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.