The clothing retailer's troubles predate the health crisis. Other stores, like J.C. Penney and Neiman Marcus, are also struggling to survive extended closures.

NPR science and business correspondents talk about the protection of the workers — those working now, and those who will start soon, in a variety of industries.

In this lockdown, low-wage workers have been publicly declared "essential" — up there with doctors and nurses. But the workers say their pay, benefits and protections don't reflect it.

Neftali Dubon, a truck driver at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, says he needs at least five or six runs a day to make a living. By mid-March he was doing just one or two.

Amazon may have violated federal health and safety standards as well as New York's whistleblower law, the New York attorney general's office wrote to Amazon in a letter obtained by NPR.

Unlimited unpaid time off will end next week. Instead, warehouse workers can take regular accrued time off or a leave of absence. The company's pay bumps will apply through mid-May.

Two weeks after Perla Pimentel was laid off, her father lost his job as a transportation contractor for Disney World. The warehouse where her mom works has also begun to furlough employees.

Most of Beverly Pickering's dog walking and pet sitting business relies on people traveling. People aren't doing that much these days.

Organizers say more than 350 workers pledged to call off work, criticizing Amazon's measures to protect them during the coronavirus pandemic. Amazon says it has taken steps to keep workers safe.

We spoke to students about to graduate into the workforce and posed their questions and anxieties to career counselors. Some advice: Be flexible, make it personal, network and look for bright spots.

The CEO says "vastly more" COVID-19 testing is needed. The company is building its own lab to start testing some workers, potentially looking to start regular checks for all employees.

Americans are still spending a fair amount on food and online deliveries, but the shutdowns of stores, malls and restaurants led to a record 8.7% sales drop in March.

Kroger and Albertsons have joined the food workers union UFCW in urging state and national officials to give grocery staff higher priority for testing and access to masks and other protections.

The company also plans to hire 75,000 additional workers. And it says it will devote some hours at Whole Foods to online orders only and make other changes to keep up with a crush of demand.

Swimmers, runners, weight-lifters are getting creative with home exercises. Out-of-work fitness instructors are doing tricky math: whether to offer their hard-earned skills on the Internet for free.

The wrongful-death case alleges Walmart ignored symptoms and failed to safeguard workers. The legal complaint is by the family of one of two employees from the same store who died in recent weeks.

Whether you're a business owner, an "essential" worker or an individual trying to make ends meet, NPR wants to hear from you. How are you getting by?

The Chicago-area store is open for business after passing "necessary inspections," the company said. Walmart did not disclose the workers' names or further details.

Walmart and other retailers are counting visitors as one way to enforce social distancing and reduce the spread of the virus.

The retailer also plans to distribute masks and gloves to workers and add one-way aisles. The company continues to urge shoppers to be "prudent" in stocking up on toilet paper and other supplies.