As Pandemic Stretches On, Revealing Possible Exposure Can Be Costly To Workers

Marcie was at work at a Ford plant when she got a text warning her she might have been exposed to the coronavirus. It wasn't a sure thing — she was a few steps removed from the confirmed positive case. But it was worrying.

"So am I supposed to leave work? Technically I could be positive and not know it," said Marcie, who didn't want her last name used because she's worried about retribution for talking about the plant. "But, you know, a lot of people just can't do that. Can't just get up and go. We depend on the forty hours."

Marcie is not alone in wondering about how to handle possible exposure to the virus.

It's one of the key conundrums for U.S. workers as sectors such as the auto industry ramp up production after the pandemic lockdowns.

Employees who can't work remotely have to consider not just the risk that they'll catch the virus at work, but the possibility that they'll be exposed to it in their communities and unwittingly spread it to their colleagues.