SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Alice McMenamin loves her home. It's a place she shares with her husband and animals.

McMenamin has been living with Multiple Sclerosis since the 1990s. While it may not have impacted her spirit, it has impacted her ability to take care of herself.

McMenamin was forced to seek help, but she feared losing the freedom she has at home.

"It was very difficult," she said

In-home healthcare is expensive and in short supply. Kaiser Health News reported that home healthcare agencies are turning away 40% of referrals because of a lack of workers.

The shortage is blamed on burnout, low wages and being recruited away by hospitals and other work with better pay and hours. The median wage for an in-home healthcare worker is approximately $10 an hour.

According to PHI, an industry research group, there are just over 2 million home healthcare workers, but the 65 and older population is expected to double by 2050, reaching nearly 90 million.

The increased demand and decreasing supply have led to some creative solutions in the private sector.

Trina Kaplow is one of the founders of Alice Care, a new app-based home care provider. Similar to a rideshare app, clients can schedule help with a task, like a bath, and licensed home care providers can choose to take the task.

"The difference is a traditional agency will require a four-hour minimum and often multiple times a week, which can be very expensive and excessive," said Kaplow.

"It's super flexible and I decide what I'm going to do in the moment," said Maria Vazquez, a CNA who works as a provider on the app.

In this great resignation mindset of an economy, where the employee has more power, Vazquez believes a flexible schedule in a traditionally unflexible career is a gamechanger.

"I have three children. I'm still taking classes. I'm applying to nursing school. Like my life is hectic. That's the reason I gravitated towards it," said Vazquez said.

Industries are changing, and healthcare is no different. As more creative solutions are being found to address worker shortages, people like McMenamin are grateful something is being done.

"Eventually one of my complications will get, get the better of me, but until then, it's not gonna win," she said.

CHEVIOT, Ohio —

Hot coffee was thrown at a Frisch's employee amid a fight.

A former employee has been charged and arrested and it's still not clear why the fight happened in the first place.

As of Monday night, the suspect, Lauren Ward, 38, was still listed as booked in the Hamilton County Jail charged with felonious assault.

According to Hamilton County Court, Ward was arraigned on Monday.

Police said she threw scalding hot coffee on another employee causing burns.

It was piping hot trouble brewing at the Frisch's restaurant on Bridgetown Road.

"There's two people in here fighting," an employee told a 911 dispatcher.

The sign outside advertises "Fresh and Fun," but on Nov. 8, police said things took a sour, angry turn.

Cheviot police said Ward allegedly waited for the victim employee to come to work, started yelling and as a manager tried to step between the two, Ward threw a cup of hot coffee at the victim employee.

Police said Ward also gouged the victim employee's left eye.

Cheviot police said the 58-year-old victim employee was burned.

According to a report, the roasting coffee splashed all over the victim's chest, face and eyes.

Then, witnesses said Ward left the establishment.

Investigators said she went to her apartment before officers arrived and no one would answer the door.

Meanwhile, others comforted the victim employee.

"She's having trouble seeing out of her eye. They're coming, hun. I've got an ambulance coming and the police are coming," an employee said while on the phone with a dispatcher.

Police said the victim employee was taken to UC Medical Center for burns to her face, a gouged left eye and coffee possibly in her eyes.

Ward's bond was set at $5,000 and the case heads to a grand jury on Dec. 1.

A manager at the Frisch's told WLWT the victim employee is doing OK.

A man who identified himself as the victim employee's son also told us she was doing OK.

So far, we have not been able to talk with the victim directly.

Cheviot police said video exists showing what happened.

We have requested a copy and expect to get it in the coming days.

WLWT also reached out to Frisch's media contact for a statement, but we have not heard back.

At a time when online shopping has become increasingly popular, warehouse workers are in high demand. Yesenia Barrera’s first warehouse job was at Amazon.

“You had to meet 100 items every hour, and you needed to have at least 200 by the second hour, which is before your break, so you had to break every two hours,” Barrera said.

She was a 19-year-old single mother and told she would have high pay and flexible hours. However, she says she was under constant surveillance, and the work was more stressful than she imagined. One time when boxes were piling up, she says she accidentally hit herself with her scan gun.

“It was in my right eye. I was stunned for a little I saw black, and I stopped scanning. I was just there for a couple of minutes. You know, my face was kind of throbbing because it's a pretty big scan gun. And that's when my manager had actually come in, and she was like, ‘Oh, what's going on here? Like, why’d you stop scanning?’”

When she wasn’t scanning, it was considered “time off task.” Barrera said one day, when she went to the bathroom multiple times outside of her breaks; they terminated her the next workday.

“I didn't even have any human interaction when they terminated me," Barrera said. "I never even got a call. I never even got an email. I just went to my next scheduled shift, and my badge didn't work.”

That experience is the reason why Yesenia is standing behind Assembly Bill 701. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed it.

The law – which is the first of its kind in the nation - will establish transparency measures for companies to disclose production quota descriptions to their workers and ensures workers can’t be fired for failing to meet an unsafe quota.

In a statement, Governor Newsom said, “We cannot allow corporations to put profit over people. The hardworking warehouse employees who have helped sustain us during these unprecedented times should not have to risk injury or face punishment as a result of exploitative quotas that violate basic health and safety.”

Warehouse workers see this as a big win, but California Retailers Association President Rachel Michelin says this legislation is concerning because it opens up warehouses and distribution centers to lawsuits.

“A lot of companies will spend millions of dollars defending themselves, even if they're in the right, and they'll end up settling because it's cheaper than going to court," Michelin said. "And those costs get passed on to consumers.”

Michelin says she is also worried overregulation will force these industries to leave California – taking away good-paying jobs. She argues companies can invest in their employees without government intervention.

Workers at construction manufacturing business RK Mechanical Industries say they’re delighted with the work culture there. Receiving Supervisor Hannah Courkamp says she left a job at Amazon to work at RK.

“The day-to-day is honestly a lot of fun," Courkamp said. "We have a really good working environment here. Our core values are safety, mentorship, accountability, relationships, and teamwork, and so every day, we live out those core values.”

The Colorado-based company has become a national leader in mental health wellness – checking in with its workers every morning to talk about things like suicide awareness or maintaining an excellent work-life balance. Courkamp says she loves the daily reminder from a sign as she leaves work.

“There's always more to just the mundane of work because we have people to go home to and people that care about us,” Courkamp said.

Barrera says she’s also had positive experiences at other warehouses. However, she believes the California law must keep big retailers in check and prevent other retailers from following the same model.

We reached out to Amazon multiple times to talk about Yesenia’s case and the bill but didn't hear back from the company before the deadline.

Both Barrera and Courkamp say instead of being a number, they want to be part of a community.

 

CHICAGO — If you're stressing about having to return back to the office, you’re not alone.

Recent studies show a large percentage of people don’t want to return to the office full time.

"I've got two young kids and pets, and I'm able to kind of take more time with them in the morning,” said Stephanie Bossmeyer, a human resources director who has been working from home the past year. "I can't believe the amount of time that I spent going to and from work."

Bossmeyer is fortunate. Her company is not pressuring employees to return to the workplace in the near future.

“It's been pretty successful, to be honest, and I think a lot of people feel that way,” said Bossmeyer.

As more people get vaccinated, the prospect of life returning to normal is exciting. While some employers are starting to consider having staff move back into the office, it’s something many teleworkers may be dreading.

“Any belief that we're returning back to normal is probably misplaced,” said Shelly Rauvola, an associate professor of organizational psychology at DePaul University in Chicago.

Rauvola specializes in health and well-being in the workplace.

“I think there's the argument to be made that individuals might be more productive in a place where they're really comfortable," explained Rauvola. "They might be more productive if they get to work different work hours."

Whether it’s the stress and cost of commuting or the loss of flexibility, more Americans are finding their stride in working from home.

“I often feel more productive,” said Bossmeyer. “Sometimes, I think you forget to kind of log out and kind of go home. But I do appreciate the flexibility.”

Late last year, more than half of the workers surveyed said they would want to work from home even after the coronavirus outbreak ended. Now, that number has grown.

A recent Harvard Business School survey of remote workers found 81% of workers prefer a hybrid schedule post-pandemic or not going back at all. Just 18% said they would want to go back to the office full time. Meanwhile, worried about company culture, some 70% of employers say they want people back in the workplace.

What the ideal post-pandemic work-life will look like is still uncertain, but experts agree flexibility may be the key.

“I think that there should be a push to try to adapt work to fit the worker because ultimately, that's what's going to make for sustainable employability,” said Rauvola. "That's what's going to make for a happier, healthier, and more productive society.”