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My brother in law is in this boat, he doesn't get benefits at his normal job so he's better off staying home. He works for his brother and told him he isn't coming back as long as this is going on. It's strictly a monetary thing for him.
For everyone of your husbands, there is a similar tradesman painting houses for $50 an hour right now while collecting unemployment at $25 an hour.
I am not sure I am following. Are you saying for every tradesman working there is a tradesman on unemployment and working side jobs for 50ish bucks an hour and refusing to go back to work?
I have brought back my staff part time, so they work and still are able to collect unemployment. I manage a restaurant. They claim what they make, UE takes half of that amount away in unemployment benefits. We aren’t able to open to capacity so I can’t really give everyone more hours if I wanted to, and I’m telling people they should collect as much as they can now because there’s no guarantee we will be able to continue the business indefinitely. They surely are making more right now, (except a handful still waiting for their benefits to be approved since May) but 6 months from now they may not have this job, and I suspect it won’t be easy to get another. This might rub some people the wrong way, but I don’t care about that. I care about our employees and their families.
Or have a family member at risk needing care and I suspect having a kid who's school is closed would qualify too.
Where are you located? Here in NC we are in stage 2 but I haven't seen a single local restaurant close. I have seen a couple in Asheville. I guess this could get worse in winter when outside dining fades.
Yes, but again that is between the state and the employee, and if they have that issue they can legitimately not come back and collect UE. No one seems to say anything about the fact that the employer can end those benefits if they recall the employee, and the money that’s costing the taxpayers. I don’t have a problem with it myself because a lot of people need this help but that just my opinion.
I thought 600 was federal? If they extend it after July 31st how could a state take it away? What state is it?
Michigan, East Lansing to be exact. We’ve had one bar (serves mostly low cost alchohol to college students) with 170 cases traced back to it, my place hasn’t had a single contact tracing call yet. That really hurt our business nonetheless. We have a patio and the landlord/city has allowed us to expand it for now, but once the weather gets cold it will be pretty hard to sustain the business, and I’m not sure how much money the owner will be willing to throw at it, although if there’s a reasonable path we will try.
Not yet, but I suspect they will in some form or another. As far as Michigan unemployment it is a cap of 362 and it is based on your highest earning quarter over the last 18 months. So for many people it is less than half of their pay.
As a fellow Michigander and a Spartan, I would love to help out. Anyway I could buy lunch that you could deliver to a hospital or another worthy cause in your area?
Hmm well I suppose I can look into that and pm you. My produce guy does some stuff for first responders (his son is a fire chief, also delivers when the old man is out of town) so maybe I’ll talk with him. With the patio open we’re doing ok (about 3 weeks of down 50% after the other outbreak) but winters are slow even in a non-pandemic. Add in no football Saturday’s and the other things that make us money being gone and it will be tough, unless they do another ppp type grant.
Please do. Even if you don't find a charity to deliver food too maybe just use the money and buy your employees dinner one night from your place at full price.
Not sure your business, but how's it been going only being able to function at X% of capacity? Does that even apply to you? Sorry..don't know what you do? We've had approx 300 different businesses here die out (or willingly shut down) because they had budgets based on full capacity with already tight profit margins and they just don't see the point of being open. Is that scenario prevalent in your area? I'm good with phasing in an approach as long as it keeps people whole without exposing them to unnecessary risk.
Some states have a rule saying if you get a dollar of unemployment from the state, you can't get it from the federal government. Most states waived that for this time. This would be another way for the states to control the $600 issue. Simply revert the rules back to normal.
I work in this industry...in sales for a wine/liquor Distributor...things are getting tough right now in Massachusetts...outside dinning helps but now that it is getting real hot outside it is tailing off and people just aren't comfortable going indoors for the most part...the Governor has been horrific as far as his communication to the industry and recently said that the banquet side of things (outside of some stuff that no one will do) is shut down indefinitely...the big issue is there was no warning this was coming and it is a real backbreaker to these people...as for this topic of employees/unemployment I saw it play out with many of my accounts...for the most part my accounts did everything they could to help their staff, they were very impressive balancing getting them hours when they were doing take-out while making sure they kept their benefits...as far as the staff goes it was a mixed bag...I saw quite a few instances where they did not want to go back once things re-opened because they were making as much or more then when they were working...it was a pure lifestyle choice for many...for the most part my accounts did not dime them out but those employees were going to the very back of the line as far as the choice shifts and getting the extra hours...those are now going to the people who stepped up when needed...overall you could tell the ones who live life looking short term and those looking at the big picture.
I won’t bore everyone but the long and short of it is we shut down, and in our reopening at locations where we can we’re struggling to get people back. It’s the food and beverage/service industry.
Thanks. I didn't know that. Personally I think that is messed up that you can't collect something that your taxes pay for if your state decides against it.
I’m not sure of any states that didn’t allow the $600 per week as part of the Cares Act.
I get that. I meant in the future or even if they extend this current 600 and some states deny it.
Sorry to hear that dkp993. You seem like a good person on these boards. Our area is rough. It's been hit. I wish you the best.
Wishing you the best. We've lost a lot of good places locally who have shut down permanently. I have one good friend who owns a single location restaurant. While he's really struggling, he's making ends meet for now by partnering with one of the local hospitals and taking donations to furnish meals for the nurses and healthcare workers there. It's kind of a way of both doing good and keeping afloat. He's had to lay off all but like three or four of his people. He's also fortunate in that the man he bought the restaurant from also owned the building and is forgiving his rent during this time to help him out.
Thanks brother. Right back at ya.
No sweat.
Thanks Shula. I’m in the wedding business now so it’s a bad time to be in the group gathering business. I was in the restaurant industry prior and owed my own too. The partner that bought me out 8/9 yrs ago shut the restaurant down at the beginning of this, I just got word a few weeks ago he won’t be opening back up. Scary times.
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Track & trace will fly back into the window once the caseload decreases. But right now we're bailing water on the Titanic with a gravy ladle.
I really hope so. I have nothing but hope that we will eventually get this minimized.
The long-term economic impact to all this is going to be staggering. A lot of businesses and associated jobs are going to be lost forever. I am sure some of the bigger businesses will have an opportunity to gain, but it will not replace the jobs which are lost. Unfortunately small business owners and marginal large companies and their employees will take the long-term hit. Good luck.
shoot me a PM then...just curious how things are going around the country and was wondering if it's more of a struggle for you guys being partially open than it was being shut down.
States determine what % of federal funds their residents can have access to. Unless it's written specifically into the upcoming bill, this will continue to be true. That's why many states changed their existing rules to allow people to take advantage of the funds provided this first time around.
Right! The belief that we will ever get back to normal is very flawed. There will be a new normal with lots of jobs going away forever. And those that keep their jobs will have new things to do or new ways to do the old tasks. In many ways we will be better off for it as a nation, but that is a tough pill to swallow for the millions that will be left on the outside looking in many never really able to recover. Its one of those things that you need to be cold and unfeeling in discussing what to do about while simultaneously being ripped apart emotionally that so many are suffering. There are going to be lots of opportunities out there as in the sense of the "old cliche of one man's misfortune is another's opportunity" but it will come at a great cost. Are we as a society willing to take from the benefits created by these opportunities and spread them to help those that are going to be crushed? Sadly I doubt it!
I’d like to see info on how states changed rules for the last stimulus for federal unemployment of $600 per week. Thanks
Sure....Michigan's a good example. I think they had three or four executive orders come out as a result. One of them included being eligible for the $600 even though they were also getting state unemployment. Previous to that, even if they were getting a dollar a week from the state, they weren't eligible for standard unemployment insurance from the federal government. It's in the gov't response to the gov't thread and I'm pretty sure the EOs are on michigan.gov They also extended unemployment to independent contractors...previously they couldn't collect.
I didn’t know prior to Covid that the Federal government also paid unemployment dollars. I thought standard unemployment was a state by state thing.
I don't know if it's changed, but the rule once was that employers had to pay 6-7% of the first $7K-$8K of a person's salary to the federal gov't for unemployment...I think it's technically insurance (not a general fund if that makes sense). I don't know if that's gone up or down...it's been 5-10 years since I messed in that arena.
Hang tough. I'm not in the same business but also one that requires group gatherings. I've taken back up hobbies I haven't had much time for in 20 years. It's not that there's no work, there's just no revenue coming in while you are working to navigate it as best you can. If there's ever a real life lesson for "saving for a rainy day", it's what we are living now. Luckily I've been in business awhile and built up a good balance sheet so on the other side of this we should be able to return. As I'm sure you know and even mentioned one of these above in another post, the questions are what is the demand going to look like on that other side and how long does it take us to get there?
