SEATTLE -- The spread of the novel coronavirus has put Asian American communities on edge as racism ramps up across the country.

There are reports of physical attacks on Asian Americans in places such as New York City, although no incidents have been reported in Washington state.

But Naomi Ishisaka, a columnist for The Seattle Times, says misinformation is spreading and leading to these types of problems.

She adds that, over the past month, some Chinese restaurants in the Seattle area have seen a 40% drop in sales.

"It's just sort of sent a chill throughout the community, and people just being very wary of coughing in public while they're Asian -- I mean, just things that you shouldn't have to think about in 2020 in the United States," she states.

Ishisaka notes racism against Asian Americans has a long history in the U.S., including "yellow peril" scapegoating of the 19th century, which led to laws such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1889.

Ishisaka says the stigma surrounding Asian Americans and coronavirus is dangerous, too. A public health official in King County told her it's hurting efforts to control the disease because some folks are discouraged from coming forward.

"They don't want to be seen as unsafe to be around or somehow a bad person because they've got this disease," Ishisaka relates. "And so they don't come forward, they don't seek treatment and then, it makes it more possible for the disease to spread."

Ishisaka says she appreciates King County's campaign to quell the racist link between Asian Americans and coronavirus with signs that say "Viruses don't discriminate and neither should we."

Ishisaka says it's going to take more, similar efforts as this disease progresses.

"The most effective way to deal with it is to focus on the science, focus on the medicine," she stresses. "And we know that when we start focusing on those things, it's really community wide that we need to be spending our energies, and not focusing on one particular ethnic group or another."


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Ohio voters are facing significant challenges at the ballot box, with some groups expressing concerns over voter roll purges and gerrymandering affecting representation, particularly in Black and other communities of color.

The issues draw attention to Ohio's "use it or lose it" policy.

Molly Shack, executive director of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, said the policy affects marginalized groups more than others. She explained some voters, especially in underserved communities, may feel disappointed by a system when it does not meet their needs, resulting in fewer people voting and a higher chance of them being removed from the voter rolls.

"Ohio has purged literally millions of voters over the last decade and most recently, close to 160,000," Shack pointed out. "Those are policies that allow voters to be removed from the rolls not because they are ineligible citizens who can't constitutionally cast a ballot but because they haven't voted in a while."

Critics like Shack argued Ohio's current electoral practices contribute to voter suppression, disproportionately affecting low-income individuals, working-class citizens, voters of color and young voters, especially in districts already burdened by participation barriers.

Advocates also expressed concern about Ohio's persistent gerrymandering issues.

Bria Bennett, communications director for the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, asserted such practices dilute Black voter influence by packing and splitting urban areas, a tactic known as "cracking and packing."

"When we're thinking about gerrymandering, many times, that dilutes the Black vote," Bennett observed. "So think of your urban centers, you're packing all your votes into one area so that, yes, that voting block is together. However, it is diluting it everywhere else."

As Ohio voters prepare to decide on Issue One, supporters see the measure as a crucial step toward a fairer, more representative democracy.

Advocates for a voter bill of rights, currently stalled in the Supreme Court, continue to raise awareness about the barriers faced by some communities, emphasizing the need for comprehensive voting reforms to ensure access across the state.


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Through this Saturday, Minnesota is recognizing Workplace Rights Week.

From COVID precautions to emerging technology, labor voices said there is key information some workers might not be aware of. Over the past year, Minnesota has phased in new laws such as earned sick-time requirements, which mandate one hour of fully paid sick time for every 30 hours worked.

Jeff Ambroz, director of development and communications for the Minnesota Training Partnership, said as COVID activity continues to circulate and with the cold and flu season almost here, workers should know the requirement is expansive.

"This isn't only sick time for yourself," Ambroz pointed out. "It's time that you can use to care for a sick family member, to get help if you are a victim of domestic abuse or stalking."

Workers are also encouraged to see if they can use their earned time for things such as vaccination appointments. Ambroz noted workplace environments are constantly changing with new equipment and technology. He recommended staff should maintain conversations among each other, elected officials and, if applicable, union representatives in the event such changes harm a workplace setting.

Over the summer, Minnesota also implemented a change to expand penalties and legal options in cases where a company misclassifies an employee as an independent contractor.

John Swanson, political coordinator for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 343, said these have long been pervasive issues, especially in the construction trades.

"(These are) some things that should be common sense," Swanson contended. "But we have to have laws now to protect people from being taken advantage of."

Labor leaders said a misclassified worker can miss out on things such as health coverage and overtime pay. Other misclassification provisions specifically dealing with the construction sector go into effect next March.


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A legal expert has issued a warning that artificial intelligence tools could lead to discriminatory practices in hiring and firing.

Algorithms and AI are increasingly used by businesses through Automated Employment Decision Tools.

But Hardeep Rekhi, partner at the Seattle law firm Rekhi & Wolk, said these tools can be programmed with data that can train them to be inherently biased.

He noted that Amazon, for example, developed one of these tools to review resumes - but had to abandon it in 2018 because it was eliminating female candidates.

"This tool is only as good as the data that it's being trained on," said Rekhi, "and if that data is tainted by individuals that have bias, I worry that the tool itself will be mis-trained."

Rekhi said it's also hard to know how AI is using data to make its decisions - and claimed these tools are essentially "black boxes" that could be discriminating against certain classes of people, without the user knowing.

Rekhi said there are ways to protect people against this. During this year's legislative session in Olympia, House Bill 1951 was introduced to prohibit "algorithmic discrimination" by automated tools.

The bill didn't pass, but Rekhi said it was on the right path.

"You have to put the onus on developers of the tool and users of the tool," said Rekhi, "to make sure that whatever tool they're using isn't discriminating, and that's what the Legislature has proposed."

Rekhi said automated tools for business decisions like hiring and firing threaten the many gains made in employment practices in recent decades.

"We've worked so hard, and we've made significant progress in the field of trying to eliminate discrimination in the workplace," said Rekhi, "and I don't want this to, kind of, undo that or to hide that."




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