Leading state claims of COVID-19 related employment lawsuits U.S. as of March 2022

In 2022, and since the start of coronavirus-related lockdown measures in March 2020, retaliation was the leading state claim of employees in the United States who filed lawsuits against their employers, totaling almost 2,000. The next most numerous claim was wrongful termination, totaling almost 1,400 state lawsuits.

COVID-19 impact on employment

Many of the lawsuits filed against employers were due to wrongful termination as the side effect of the spread of COVID-19 had a devastating effect on living standards and the American economy. Unemployment levels in 2020 reached a ten year high in the United States, the most since the after-effects of the 2008 recession were fully realized in 2010. Employment figures since the end of COVID-19 related lockdowns have already been on the rise, and unemployment is expected to continue to decrease until 2024.

Changing nature of employment

The share of Americans in full-time work who were offered remote work in 2022 stood at 35 percent. At the same time, approximately 29 million Americans said that they worked at home for five days a week. One of the main advantages of working at home was found to be individual focused work, whereas social interactions with colleagues were perceived to be much better in the office.