Which workers are ‘essential’? U.S. Chamber of Commerce launches online tracker

Washington — Calling for a uniform approach to identify essential workers and functions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has created two resources intended to help employers and workers navigate challenges presented by what it calls a “patchwork of guidance” and “lack of clarity” from domestic and international governments.

According to a press release, the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workplace Tracker provides a state-by-state glance of stay-at-home orders with links to each order, start and current end dates, and other details about each state’s guidance.

Additionally, the International Principles for Safeguarding Essential Economic Functions in the COVID-19 Pandemic, developed in collaboration with partners in the public and private sectors, is a set of principles the U.S. Chamber says governments should take into account to address “the inevitable tension between [physical] distancing (i.e., ‘shelter in place,’ ‘stay at home’ and other quarantine orders) and the need to allow for essential economic activity.”

The principles include governments clearly and comprehensibly defining essential infrastructure, services and workers.