Health Inequities and Employment: The Continued Struggle for Justice

Employment and health inequities are inextricably linked, which has been illustrated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Essential workers, who are predominately racial and ethnic minorities, have disproportionately been infected, hospitalized, and died from Covid-19. Low-wage women workers have lost jobs and health insurance coverage at higher rates than men during the pandemic, while elderly, disabled, and pregnant workers have often been denied accommodations that would protect them from the workplace exposure of Covid-19. Although federal, state, and local government and public health officials have acknowledged that social conditions, such as housing and education, limit an individual’s ability to be healthy, they have failed to make the connection between employment and health inequities.

This two-day symposium entitled, Health Inequities and Employment: The Continued Struggle for Justice, convened workers, scholars, lawyers, and community advocates to not only highlight the connection between employment and health inequities, but also to create a plan for utilizing public health, civil rights, and employment laws to address health inequities.

The event was held on March 31 and April 1, 2022 and was hosted by the William C. Wefel Center for Employment Law, the Saint Louis University Law Journal, and the Institute for Healing Justice & Equity.

Links to zoom recordings:

March 31st Session
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April 1st Session
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