Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced on Thursday, June 11, an expansive plan to restart the economy and protect public health during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, including federally funded testing for every worker called back on the job, guaranteed paid sick leave for workers affected by COVID-19 and a federally coordinated contact tracing workforce.
The former vice president, meeting with black community leaders and business owners in Philadelphia, said that he would also task the Occupational Safety and Health Administration with enforcing standard workplace safety requirements and that he wants to build out a public health job corps with state, tribal and local officials to conduct robust contact tracing, according to NPR.
NPR says the plan includes requirements that businesses tailor workplace arrangements for employees in high-risk groups, funding for small businesses to help rehire employees and steps for reopening schools and day care centers.
From Politico: Biden’s pitch comes as businesses have been clamoring for clearer guidance from the Trump administration on how often they should test workers or whether there should be a blanket testing policy for people still looking for a job. And businesses are also bracing for the added cost of testing their employees — a concern that would be addressed in Biden’s plan.