Every week “essential businesses” such as fast food and take-out restaurants have teenagers and young adults working.

These businesses have given people the opportunity to take time off due to the virus or to lose their job. Some teenagers are going off to college soon and need that money and most teenagers and young adults can’t file for unemployment.

Having a young age group working is putting many at risk, including the employees themselves and their families. While these students are going to work they are also risking their families by coming home after being around customers and being in the public for 3-4 hours, sometimes more.

This is also causing teenagers to stress out because sometimes this is their only source of income. They worry about the risks and either go without or they break themselves down from stressing about work.

Even though most businesses are now giving out “Hazard Pay” that still is not enough to reduce the risk of this young age group being forced to work to keep the company open or being forced to risk losing it all and facing extremely difficult times.

Sanitary and health guidelines have changed, but that does not change how the public will act.

There are people who abide by the rules and people who go against them and young adults have to experience all of this first-hand. That is a risk teenagers should not have to face this early on in life.