COVID Workplace Protections Are Welcomed and Attacked

California’s workplace safety agency has received complaint after complaint about COVID-related cases fueled by lax labor protections.

It was the end of November when Imelda Rosales started feeling sick, which she chalked up to several existing health problems. Still, amid a rash of coworkers falling ill with COVID-19, she went for a test herself. On Nov. 29, Rosales clocked in as usual at a Littlerock, California, McDonald’s — her employer of 11 years. By the end of the shift, however, she started to come undone with symptoms that included dizziness, sweating and loss of taste. The next day, the results came back: positive.