Employer-Sponsored Benefits in the United States: The Past, Present, and Future

In early 2020, the COVID-19 virus caused a global pandemic, threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions across the globe. As of this writing, 40 million Americans had filed first-time unemployment claims U.S. Department of Labor (2020, March 26). Employment and Training Administration. https:/...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Compensation and benefits review 2021-01, Vol.53 (1), p.24-42
Main Authors: Lester, Gretchen V., Brock Baskin, Meagan E., Clinton, Mary S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
COVID-19
Employers
Labor departments
Unemployment
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Summary:In early 2020, the COVID-19 virus caused a global pandemic, threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions across the globe. As of this writing, 40 million Americans had filed first-time unemployment claims U.S. Department of Labor (2020, March 26). Employment and Training Administration. https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/eta. The United States, with its historical reliance upon employers to cover many basic benefits, must overcome unique challenges in its recovery from this global crisis. In this article, we briefly describe the initial federal response; we then present the history of US benefits along with recent yet prepandemic benefit trends, and we conclude by presenting a potential path forward that may allow for both employers and workers to recover in a postpandemic society.
ISSN:0886-3687
1552-3837
DOI:10.1177/0886368720947609