Bloomberg Law
March 20, 2020, 8:15 PM

Poor, Minority Workers Less Likely to Be Able to Work From Home

Philip Gray
Bloomberg Editorial
Donald Moore
Donald Moore
Bloomberg News

Millions of Americans have been sent home from work during the coronavirus pandemic, and a new report highlights the stark divide between those who can continue their work from home and those who cannot—largely low-income and minority workers.

Analyzing Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the report from the Economic Policy Institute finds that 28.8% of American workers are able to work from home. This figure varies based on income: While 62% of the top quartile of wage earners fall into this category, only 9.2% of the bottom quartile do.

Heidi Shierholz, director of policy at the think tank and co-author ...