LONG BEACH, Calif. — Over the four years I’ve worked at a Walmart, a handful of days stand out as extremely stressful, even dangerous. But right now, we retail associates are putting our health and safety at risk as people stock up for weeks (perhaps months) of isolation.

It’s been a lot like Black Friday at my store. The frenzy, with customers hoarding items or acting out when they can’t find something, is incredibly stressful. Security officers hold customers back as we restock empty shelves. And as we walk through the ransacked aisles to buy dinner for our own families at the end of our shifts, there’s not much left, even though Walmart is limiting customers’ purchases of items like milk and eggs.

If there were still lots of items on the shelves, I couldn’t afford to stockpile a month’s supply of toilet paper and frozen food on just about $13 an hour anyway. Under normal circumstances, I barely have enough to put food on the table for me and my father, whom I care for.

I need to work. I’m young and healthy, but I’m worried I will catch the coronavirus and infect my father, some elderly customers or even my co-workers. I’m stuck in this impossible situation because Walmart’s punitive paid leave policy fails to protect me, my family, my co-workers or our customers — particularly now.