White House Refuses to Provide Sign Language Interpreter During COVID-19 Emergency Briefings

Since the start of the COVID-19 emergency in the United States, the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) has repeatedly asked the White House to provide on-screen American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters for each broadcast pandemic-related news briefing by the president or the Coronavirus Taskforce.

Governors of nearly all 50 states have been providing this specific accommodation for the hearing impaired since March. Yet, the White House has refused to do so. In a legal filing on August 14, the administration said why. They blamed the media.

In a sworn statement submitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, White House Deputy Press Secretary Judson P. Deere wrote, “The White House and [its] Press Office … do not control the video decisions made by the networks operating the press cameras – for example, the subject(s) of the camera’s [sic] focus; whether a tight shot or wide shot is used, and therefore, how much of the subject or their surrounding environment is captured; and whether and when to pan away from the subject(s). In other words, even if a sign language interpreter were used during a press conference, the decision as to whether the video broadcast by a particular network would include the interpreter in-frame would be made and controlled entirely by the network, not by the White House or Press Office.”

Deere was responding to an August 3 lawsuit filed with the federal court by NAD, which lodged the complaint only after allowing the administration almost five months to resolve the issue without legal action.

In a March 18 letter to the White House Director of Communications, NAD Chief Executive Howard A. Rosenblum wrote, “From the first White House press conference on this coronavirus, the NAD has received daily complaints from deaf and hard of hearing citizens across the country asking why their President is not ensuring they are getting the same access to emergency information as everyone else.”

As reported by Deaf Vee Journal, NAD claims that the White House is required to provide ASL interpretation under Section 504 of the 1974 Rehabilitation Act and under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. NAD has asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction compelling the White House to comply.

In its opposition to the motion, the White House also claimed that Section 504 does not apply to the Executive Branch and that federal law only requires closed captioning. The White House also stated that “within hours of the briefings, [it] posts a complete transcript on its official website and provides the same to the press.”

The administration has often been criticized for not posting timely and accurate press briefing transcripts to its website, nor distributing them to the news media, notably the incomplete transcript it issued following the president’s press conference in Helsinki with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

West Penn Hospital Nurses Unionize, Seeking to Address Healthcare Crisis and Raise Nursing Standards

Service Employees International Union Healthcare Pennsylvania announced via email that more than 700 registered nurses employed by West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh have joined the 40,000-member statewide local.

As reported by the Pittsburgh Business Times and the Post-Gazette, a majority of the West Penn RNs voted to join the union during three weeks of balloting. SEIU Healthcare PA already represents about 4,000 employees of Allegheny Health Network, of which West Penn is a member. They include nurses, technical staff, clerical staff, and service workers.

SEIU Healthcare PA also represents nursing home and homecare workers throughout the Commonwealth with the goal “to address our healthcare crisis, our economic crisis, and the crisis around Black lives in Pennsylvania,” the union stated.

Denise Novack, an RN in West Penn’s Neonatal ICU, said, “Especially with what we’re seeing across the country with COVID, we formed a union to make sure that frontline nurses always have a strong voice in decisions that affect our patients and the care we provide. We’re so excited that we’ll be able to collaborate with management to improve the hospital that we love, and work with other union nurses to set the standard for nursing in Pennsylvania.”

West Penn Hospital operates specializes in emergency, cancer, cardiovascular, neuroscience, orthopedic, physical therapy, pregnancy and newborn, and women’s health care. It operates a burn center and a stroke center, and offers advanced medical care in allergy and immunology, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology, inpatient rehabilitation, ophthalmology, and plastic surgery.

Nation’s Initial Unemployment Claims Surge Above One Million Again in Latest Weekly Report

One week after dipping below one million for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of initial unemployment claims for the United States surged again from August 9-15.

The new weekly total of seasonally adjusted initial claims was 1,106,000 for the week, an increase of 135,000 from the prior week, according to the US Department of Labor. In addition, the prior week’s reported level was revised up by 8,000 initial claims to 971,000. The four-week moving average declined by 79,000 to 1,175,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate for the week ending August 8 was 10.2%, a decrease of 0.4% from the previous week’s rate. The newly reported rate represents 14,844,000 Americans who were continuing to collect unemployment benefits or who filed new claims. That total was a decrease of 636,000 from the week ending August 1.  The four-week moving average in this category was 15,841,250, a decrease of 326,750 from the previous week’s revised average.

In addition, for the week ending August 15, states reported 542,797 initial claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). When combined there were 1,648,797 initial claims for traditional unemployment or PUA benefits for the week.

For the comparable calendar period in 2019, there were 171,386 initial unemployment claims nationwide, while the unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.1 percent and the volume was 1,619,391 initial and continuing claims.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all unemployment programs for the week ending August 1 was 28,059,349, a decrease of 197,601 from the previous week. There were 1,704,382 people claiming benefits in all programs during the comparable week last year.

In Pennsylvania, there were 24,977 initial claims filed during the week ending August 15, according to the US Department of Labor. That figure was a reduction of 2,117 from the previous week. The total number of Pennsylvania workers claiming insured unemployment benefits for the week ending August 8 was 596,617, a decrease of 76,476 from the previous week. None of the state-level statistics reported by the Department were seasonally adjusted.

Pennsylvania reported to the Department that it experienced fewer layoffs in the manufacturing, accommodation and food services, health care and social assistance, administrative and support, and waste management and remediation services industries.

Separately, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that unemployment rates were lower in July in 30 states, higher in nine states, and stable in 11 states and the District of Columbia. Massachusetts had the highest rate in July (16.1%), followed by New York (15.9%), Nevada (14.0%), New Jersey (13.8%), and Pennsylvania (13.7%). The nationwide figure for the month was 10.2%.

The rates in Connecticut (10.2%), New Mexico (12.7%), and New York all set record highs dating back to the start of the data series in 1976.

Utah had the lowest rate for July at 4.5%, followed by Nebraska (4.8%), and Idaho (5.0%). The nationwide figure for the month was 10.2%.

July PA Jobs Update

Pennsylvania’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 13.7% in July 2020, up 0.5% over the prior month, following decreases in the rate in May and June. However, the rate in July stood 2.4% lower than its record high in the seasonally adjusted series (dating back to 1976) of 16.1% in April 2020. The national rate in July 2020 stood at 10.2%. This and the other changes to data noted in this update reflect the evolution of Pennsylvania’s employment situation through the coronavirus pandemic (please see the **footnote below). Over the month, unemployment rolls increased by 44,074 individuals, with total unemployment rising to 886,296. However, it should be noted that unemployment estimates for most states in the household survey (measures unemployment and employment – see *footnote below) were again affected by misclassification from respondents in July 2020 (i.e. workers who should have been classified as unemployed on temporary layoff).

As of July 2020, Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate stood 9.0% higher than its level of 4.7% in February 2020, with total unemployment standing 577,268 above its total of 309,028 individuals in February 2020. For context, Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate had declined 0.7% over both of Governor Wolf’s terms as of February 2020, with total unemployment down by 35,408. State unemployment statistics for the month are as follows:

• Total Unemployment – 886,296
• Change Over Month – (UP) 44,074
• Change Over 5 Months – (UP) 577,268
• Change Over Year – (UP) 603,833
• Change Over Gov. Wolf to Date – (UP) 541,860
• Rate Change Over Month – (UP) 0.5%
• Rate Change Over 5 Months – (UP) 9.0%
• Rate Change Over Year – (UP) 9.3%
• Rate Change Over Gov. Wolf to Date – (UP) 8.3%

As indicated above, total unemployment’s rounded percentage of the labor force, or unemployment rate, rose over the month (rate = unemployment / labor force). The labor force is the number of employed individuals combined with the number of unemployed individuals actively searching for work. Labor force growth can be a sign of a strengthening economy from more people working and/or more individuals searching for jobs. In July 2020, PA’s labor force rebounded with growth of 87,964 individuals, a combination of total employment* rising by 43,890 and unemployment up by 44,074 as noted above. The growth in July marks the largest month-to-month increase in PA’s labor force in the seasonally adjusted series dating back to 1976, raising the state’s total labor force to 6,453,311. However, this growth follows the largest month-to-month decrease in the seasonally adjusted series in June 2020, a decline of 137,188 (unemployment -31,853 & employment -105,335), which lowered the total labor force level to 6,365,347, its lowest point since January 2010.

As of July 2020, PA’s labor force is down by 105,108 individuals (unemployment +577,268 & employment -682,376) from its record high of 6,558,419 in February 2020. For context, PA’s labor force had grown by 159,267 individuals (unemployment -35,408 & employment +194,675) over both of Governor Wolf’s terms as of February 2020. State labor force statistics for the month are as follows: 

• Total Labor Force – 6,453,311
• Change Over Month – (UP) 87,964

Change Over 5 Months – (DOWN) 105,108

• Change Over Year – (DOWN) 31,180
• Change Over Gov. Wolf to Date – (UP) 54,159

PA Non-farm* job rolls rebounded for a third consecutive month with growth of 97,900 in July 2020, raising total non-farm employment to 5,525,900. Over the last three months, non-farm employment has grown by 532,800 following a staggering loss of 1,116,500 over March and April 2020 combined (bringing non-farm employment in April 2020 to 4,993,100, its lowest level on record in the seasonally adjusted series – dating back to 1990). As of July 2020, non-farm job rolls were down by 583,700 from a record high of 6,109,600 in February 2020 (please see the spreadsheet below for comparison to other states for change in non-farm employment from Feb. 2020 – Jul. 2020). For context, non-farm employment had grown by 295,700 over both of Governor Wolf’s terms as of February 2020. State non-farm employment statistics for the month are as follows: 

• Total Non-Farm Employment – 5,525,900
• Change Over Month – (UP) 97,900
• Change Over 5 Months – (DOWN) 583,700
• Change Over Year – (DOWN) 541,900
• Change Over Gov. Wolf to Date – (DOWN) 288,000

*Total employment for labor force provided by U.S. Census Household survey. The separate BLS Establishment survey measures non-farm jobs only.
**Survey periods for data are as of the middle of the month, meaning changes occurring beyond this time are not captured for the month.

COVID-19 Job Impact Feb.-July 2020

(States ranked by non-farm % job change; Source: U.S. BLS)