Workers Waiting on Coronavirus Test Results Go Weeks Without Pay

Summary

WSJ Your Money Briefing

Episode: "Workers Waiting on Coronavirus Test Results Go Weeks Without Pay"

Date: August 4, 2020

Host: J.R. Whalen

Guest: Deanna Paul, Wall Street Journal Reporter

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Episode Overview

This episode spotlights the financial and personal hardships faced by workers across the U.S. who, due to slow COVID-19 test result turnarounds, are required to stay home—often for weeks—without pay. WSJ reporter Deanna Paul shares stories of affected workers, explores the lack of uniform protections, and examines the patchwork nature of state and company policies during the pandemic.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Prolonged Wait for Test Results and Its Fallout

[00:20 – 01:25]

• COVID-19 case surges have increased testing demand, straining labs and causing significant delays for test results.
• Many workers are forced to sit at home in "limbo," unable to return to work or collect pay while they await results.
• Nearly half of American families don't have savings to cover even two and half weeks of lost income.

"Waiting without pay for these tests week after week can be financially devastating for families."
— Deanna Paul [00:39]

2. Personal Stories Illustrating the Financial Strain

[01:25 – 02:16]

• A Georgia woman waited at home for 16 days post-testing (asymptomatic), unpaid, after a coworker showed symptoms.
• A Richmond, Virginia college senior and waitress lost 17 days of income while awaiting a negative result, forcing her to dip into her college savings.

"She had to deplete her college savings for the fall by not being paid for that period of time."
— Deanna Paul [01:51]

• The revised CDC quarantine guidelines recommend 10 days at home, but many workers exceed this duration due to result delays.

"These people are all well past that deadline that the CDC guidance says."
— Deanna Paul [02:31]

3. Challenges for Freelancers and Independent Workers

[02:39 – 03:14]

• Freelancers, too, are left vulnerable; one waited weeks for a negative result to protect her clients, suffering a significant income loss.

"The result of that was financially devastating for her had she not had savings put away for a situation like this."
— Deanna Paul [02:58]

4. Safety Net: Unemployment and Stimulus Support Gaps

[03:05 – 03:45]

• State rules differ on eligibility for unemployment during the waiting period, with many requiring workers to exhaust eligibility for regular (state) unemployment first.
• The federal $600 weekly stimulus expired at the end of July, leaving those reliant on it "out of luck" as Congress negotiates the next package.

"There was a weekly stipend of $600, but that ended at the end of July. And so people that were relying on that are out of luck at this point."
— Deanna Paul [03:37]

5. Sick Leave, Legal Protections, and Employers' Policies

[03:45 – 04:28]

• There’s no universal law ensuring paid leave for those awaiting COVID results; policies are inconsistent among states and employers.
• Some companies count quarantine as sick time; others do not—especially if the test is ultimately negative, blurring eligibility for paid leave.

"There isn't necessarily a point blank rule that employees who are at home awaiting results can point to and say, I qualify for this."
— Deanna Paul [04:09]

6. Tension Between Health Safety and Worker Hardship

[04:28 – 04:48]

• Employers want certainty before allowing workers to return—often requiring a negative result, beyond merely following CDC’s 10-day quarantine guidance, especially in high-contact roles.

"Some employers, 10 days aren't enough if you don't have a negative test in hand."
— Deanna Paul [04:36]

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Notable Quotes

• "Waiting without pay for these tests week after week can be financially devastating for families."
  — Deanna Paul [00:39, 02:16]

• "She had to deplete her college savings for the fall by not being paid for that period of time."
  — Deanna Paul [01:51]

• "There was a weekly stipend of $600, but that ended at the end of July. And so people that were relying on that are out of luck at this point."
  — Deanna Paul [03:37]

• "There isn't necessarily a point blank rule that employees who are at home awaiting results can point to and say, I qualify for this."
  — Deanna Paul [04:09]

• "Some employers, 10 days aren't enough if you don't have a negative test in hand."
  — Deanna Paul [04:36]

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Useful Timestamps

• 00:39 – Introduction to the scale of the problem and its effects on U.S. families.
• 01:25 – Personal case study: Georgia worker’s 16-day wait.
• 01:51 – Personal case study: Virginia college student and loss of savings.
• 03:14 – Unemployment eligibility explainer.
• 03:37 – Expiry of the federal unemployment supplement and its impact.
• 04:09 – Explanation of lack of uniform sick leave rules.
• 04:36 – Employers’ rationale for requiring test results, even beyond CDC guidance.

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Summary

This episode illustrates the exposed vulnerabilities in America’s workplace safety net during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for those caught in a testing backlog. Workers—whether full-time, part-time, or freelance—face extended unpaid absences, unclear or insufficient legal protections, and policies that vary drastically depending on their workplace or state of residence. With limited savings and expired federal aid, these everyday delays lead to real financial distress—while employers seek certainty to protect others at work. The stories and insights shared underscore an urgent, ongoing strain at the intersection of public health and personal finance.

Transcript

[A]

This episode is brought to you by Charles Schwab. Decisions made in Washington can affect your portfolio every day. Washington Wise from Charles Schwab is an original podcast that unpacks the stories making news in Washington. [e-mail] Washingtonwise.

[B]

Here's your money briefing for Tuesday, August 4th. I'm J.R. wayland for the Wall Street Journal. A surge in COVID 19 cases around the country has increased the demand for testing and created bottlenecks at labs. It also means a long and sometimes costly game of limbo for people who are waiting on results to get back to work.

[C]

Waiting without pay for these tests week after week can be financially devastating for families. Nearly half of American families don't have savings equivalent to two and a half weeks of take home pay.

[B]

So are there any rules to protect workers in this situation? Wall Street Journal reporter Deanna Paul will be here to discuss after the break. Getting tested for COVID 19 has become a lot easier in the past few months. Getting fast results has not. And for a lot of people that means sitting at home waiting for results and not getting paid. Reporter Deanna Paul joins us to discuss. So Deanna, you spoke with several people who are stuck at home waiting on test results. What's going on with them?

[C]

One woman that I spoke to from Georgia, she has been home waiting for a COVID 19 test result for 16 days, not getting paid. And she's not symptomatic. She actually only went out to get a test because one of the people she was training at work came in with symptoms and so she went and got a test just to be safe. But she's never been symptomatic. And yes, she's been home for 16 days waiting for a test result. Another woman that I spoke to out of Richmond, Virginia, is an incoming college senior and she waits tables at a local neighborhood restaurant. She's been homesick for, I believe, 17 days before she received the negative results and wasn't paid during that time. And it's not the company's policy to pay if somebody's home waiting for a result that's negative. She had to deplete her college savings for the fall by not being paid for that period of time.

[B]

Wow. If people don't have savings, they could be in real trouble.

[C]

Waiting without pay for these tests week after week can be financially devastating for families. Nearly half of American families don't have savings equivalent to two and a half weeks of take home pay. The ironic part about all of this is that the CDC guidelines were revised to say that 10 days is the amount of time that somebody has to be at home quarantining. So these people are all well past that deadline that the CDC guidance says.

[B]

And now how about people who are their own boss? You know, they aren't answering to a company's set of rules.

[C]

One of the women I spoke to is a freelancer. She was saying that even though she was no longer symptomatic, she wanted her test in hand because she had clients. And she wanted to make sure that going out and working with these clients as an independent contractor that she wasn't taking a risk of getting them sick. And the result of that was financially devastating for her had she not had savings put away for a situation like this.

[B]

Now, Deanna, we saw a lot of changes to unemployment and the stimulus packages. Do any of those offer aid to workers in this sort of limbo situation?

[C]

So each state has its own rules about unemployment. The states that I looked at, like in Georgia, in order for a person to be eligible for pandemic unemployment, they have to first not be eligible for the state unemployment. The federal government also passed a stimulus bill in March, which expired last week at the end of July that had some benefits for unemployment. There was a weekly stipend of $600, but that ended at the end of July. And so people that were relying on that are out of luck at this point.

[B]

So they really have their eyes on the next stimulus bill coming out of Washington. So let me ask you this. Does this time at home count as sick time? Are there any federal laws that protect someone in this situation?

[C]

Every state has its own rules and different definitions, and each employer has its own policy. Some of the people that I spoke to, their companies included this as a part of sick time. Others did not. Because unemployment benefits are state by state, there isn't necessarily a point blank rule that employees who are at home awaiting results can point to and say, I qualify for this. I think especially when you're talking about people who are waiting at home and ultimately get a negative test results, it makes it a bit harder because some employers could say, well, that wasn't Covid sick leave.

[B]

And from an employer standpoint, they want to be sure no one's coming in the door who has any chance of testing positive.

[C]

As we saw in the story, some employers, 10 days aren't enough if you don't have a negative test in hand. They want to make sure, especially if you're in an industry where you're working with clients and patients and patrons, that you're able to say for certain that the person that's working there is COVID negative.

[B]

All right. That's Wall Street Journal reporter Deanna Paul. Deanna, thanks for coming on the show.

[C]

Thank you.

[B]

And that's your Money briefing. I'm J.R. whalen for the Wall Street Journal.

[A]

This episode is brought to you by Charles Schwab. Decisions made in Washington can affect your portfolio every day. But what policy changes should investors be watching? Washington Wise is an original podcast from Charles Schwab that unpacks the stories making news in Washington right now and how they may affect your finances and portfolio. Listen @schwab.com washingtonwise.