Essential Workers as a Legal Category - a podcast by Duke GSF

Who is an “essential” worker? Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the concept of “essential work” has been broadened from doctors and emergency responders to include a range of work and care. But does the term “essential worker” have any legal significance? If not, how could we imagine a legal category of “essential” work that would adequately value the care work that essential workers perform? This is especially important given that many of today’s essential workers, such as grocery clerks, farmworkers, and childcare providers, lack basic labor protections and job security, even as they are publicly lauded for their service and sacrifice. This panel discussion will examine where the idea of “essential workers” fits into local and international law, in order to understand why our most valued workers are too often the most vulnerable.

Moderator: Ashton W Merck, Visiting Lecturer, Duke Kunshan University

Speakers: 

Pedro Augusto Gravatá Nicoli, associate professor at the Faculty of Law of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG)

Supriya Routh, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Victoria

Candida Leone, Assistant Professor at the Amsterdam Centre for Transformative Private Law

Further episodes of Revaluing Care in the Times of Covid-19

Further podcasts by Duke GSF

Website of Duke GSF