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The Dallas Federal Reserve Bank’s survey of economic activity in the oil patch released on Tuesday illustrates how dire things have become for the industry, Reuters reported. “We will likely shut down drilling next month, pay an early termination penalty to our rig contractor, and liquidate excess hedges to pay down debt. We are in survival mode now,” wrote one of the survey respondents, who was from an exploration and production firm. The Dallas Fed’s survey fell from minus-4.2 in the fourth quarter (not great, not awful), to minus-50.9 in the first quarter (worst ever). The survey apparently arrived as the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia erupted and the coronavirus pandemic worsened, so it caught producers and service companies at a notable moment of panic. The United States produces nearly 13 million barrels of oil per day, about half from the Dallas Fed’s coverage region, which includes all of Texas, northern Louisiana and southern New Mexico. Estimates for the crash in demand have gone from bad to worse, with some firms now saying that consumption will fall as much as 20 percent in the next quarter. “I am shutting in everything I can and cutting general and administrative expenses to minimal levels to try and ride out the storm. Those who are in debt will not survive,” another respondent said.

States like New York and California have made gig workers eligible for jobless benefits and sick days, but the companies have allegedly resisted complying, the New York Times reported. In a call with analysts last week, the Uber chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, alluded to the problem, suggesting that his hands were tied because Uber drivers are independent contractors. “This situation certainly demonstrates the downside of attaching basic protections to W-2 employment,” he said. And in a letter to President Trump on Monday, Khosrowshahi asked that any economic stimulus or coronavirus-related legislation provide “protections and benefits for independent workers,” along with “the opportunity to legally provide them with a real safety net going forward.” A Lyft spokeswoman said her company was also pushing to extend any forthcoming stimulus to drivers, and said, “The vast majority of drivers on the Lyft platform use it to earn supplemental income,” rather than as a primary job. But for many drivers, the problem is not a legal void. It is that the companies they work for have not complied with existing laws or agency rulings. The highest-profile case is in California, which passed a law last year requiring companies to classify workers as employees if the companies control how they do the work, or if they hire workers to perform a job central to the business.

The Trump administration and congressional leaders rushed on Wednesday to assemble a massive stimulus package aimed at preventing the U.S. economy from plummeting into its worst collapse since the Great Depression, as fears about the coronavirus pandemic brought much of American life to a standstill, the Washington Post reported. The administration’s $1 trillion proposed rescue plan, which forms the basis for fast-moving negotiations on Capitol Hill, includes sending two large checks to many Americans and devoting $300 billion toward helping small businesses avoid mass layoffs. Priorities laid out in a two-page Treasury Department document also include $50 billion to help rescue the airline industry and $150 billion to prop up other sectors, which could include hotels. The White House is vetting these proposals with Senate GOP leaders before engaging more fully with Democrats, so the package is certain to evolve in coming days. Democrats, meanwhile, are eyeing their own priorities, largely aiming to shore up safety-net programs and the public health infrastructure, as well as send money directly to American taxpayers, while shunning corporate bailouts. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) proposed on Wednesday having the Federal Reserve send $2,000 to every American adult and $1,000 to every American child until the crisis ends.

The coronavirus emergency relief package, which became law yesterday, gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off work because of the coronavirus, the New York Times reported. It is the first time the U.S. has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of coronavirus. Most workers at small and midsize companies can get the paid leave, as can government employees, as long as they’ve been employed at least 30 days.

With fear of infection rising among factory workers, and few customers shopping for cars, several automakers on Wednesday decided to idle their plants in the United States, Canada and Mexico for at least a week, the New York Times reported. The decisions will put tens of thousands of people out of work and add to the coronavirus outbreak’s growing economic toll. The country’s largest automakers — General Motors, Ford Motor and Fiat Chrysler — decided to close plants after the United Auto Workers union pressured them to do so to protect workers. That pressure intensified after it was revealed on Wednesday that a worker at a Ford truck plant in Dearborn, Mich., had tested positive for the virus. In addition to G.M., Ford and Fiat Chrysler, Honda, Toyota and Nissan also said they would idle their North American factories. The shutdown of car plants will force hundreds of companies that produce parts and components to follow suit over the coming days. Read more. 

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General Motors, Ford Motor and Fiat Chrysler have negotiated with the United Auto Workers union to “review and implement the rotating partial shutdown of facilities” and other additional measures in an attempt to keep workers safe and healthy amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the union announced yesterday, CNBC.com reported. The actions are expected to be a compromise between the companies and union after UAW President Rory Gamble on Sunday urged the automakers to cease production for two weeks due to the spread of the virus in the U.S., including employees from each of the automakers. It’s unclear at this time how the union and automakers plan to implement the “rotating partial” shutdowns. The union said it expects “more detailed information to be released in the next 24 hours.”

Marriott International Inc., the world’s largest hotel company with nearly 1.4 million rooms world-wide, said that it is starting to furlough what it expects will be tens of thousands of employees as it ramps up hotel closings across the globe, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company began shutting down some of its managed properties last week, a Marriott spokeswoman said. The employees at these properties won’t be paid while on furlough but the bulk will continue to receive health-care benefits that are ultimately paid by the hotel owner, she added, which for the vast majority of the brand’s properties isn’t Marriott. Marriott is also trimming staff through furloughs at properties that are still operating. The staff reductions include everyone from general managers to housekeepers. The Marriott spokeswoman said that there has been no layoffs or furloughs at the corporate level but those are “under discussion.” Marriott said it expected to bring back as many of the furloughed employees as possible when the novel coronavirus is contained and business returns. In the U.S., about 130,000 employees are on the Marriott payroll, the company said.

The House overwhelmingly passed an economic relief bill on Saturday for the coronavirus, dedicating tens of billions of dollars for paid sick leave, unemployment insurance, free testing and other measures to help Americans impacted by the crisis, the Washington Post reported. The 363-40 vote capped two days of volatile negotiations between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that threatened to fall apart entirely for hours Friday amid GOP misgivings. The House vote sends the legislation to the Senate, which is expected to pass it this week after Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) canceled a planned recess so senators could act on the issue. The agreement reached Friday is primarily aimed at expanding the safety net to cope with the potentially catastrophic economic impact of the coronavirus. In addition to ensuring free coronavirus testing, the plan would dramatically increase several benefits, particularly family medical leave and paid sick leave, while also bolstering unemployment insurance; spending on health insurance for the poor; and food programs for children and the elderly. One of the biggest changes is a new paid sick leave guarantee for those impacted by the coronavirus, and reaching agreement on this issue was one of the final sticking points to a deal. Under the agreement, employers would be required to provide 14 days of paid sick leave at “not less” than two-thirds their regular rate. They would qualify for the benefit if they are sick and have to be quarantined or treated for coronavirus, or if they have to leave their jobs to take care of a family member who has coronavirus.