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Small businesses must rehire workers for federal aid, but what if workers don't come back?

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You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Laid-off employees and their employers are both facing a potential Catch-22 because of two separate provisions in the $2.2 trillion CARES Act passed by Congress to keep the -economy alive.The problem is that many small companies are now receiving federal dollars to rehire their laid-off employees under one provision of the CARES Act, yet low-wage workers may find that, thanks to a different provision, they are bringing in more money while jobless than they would by returning to workIf Louisiana employers report that the laid-off employees decline to return to work, the workers could become ineligible for the generous unemployment benefits from the Louisiana Workforce Commission now available through July.An agency spokesman said the commission will not decide whether to cut off benefits for these workers until after Gov. John Bel Edwards lifts his stay-at-home order after May 15.“It’s a very uncomfortable topic, but it’s part of the crucible of getting people back to work,” said Adam Knapp, president and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, who said he is hearing questions from businesses multiple times every day on what they should do if their laid-off employees don’t want to return.The perverse situation has been created by the CARES Act that Congress approved hastily on March 27 because of the clamor to pass legislation to keep the national economy afloat.The Paycheck Protection Program under the CARES Act provided $350 billion in loans to companies with fewer than 500 employees. If companies maintain their pre-coronavirus payrolls over eight weeks, the federal Small Business Administration will forgive the loan. Congress provided another $310 billion last week after the first batch of money was exhausted.Small businesses are beginning to receive their PPP loans. So companies that laid off their employees are beginning to try to rehire them.But employers are running headlong into another provision of the CARES Act – which began offering $600 weekly payments to unemployed workers through July. That’s nearly three times as much as the $247 per week that the Louisiana Workforce Commission pays laid-off workers.In all, unemployed workers in Louisiana can now earn up to $847 per week, or roughly $20 per hour. That’s more than what many low-wage workers were earning, particularly in the hospitality industry.The Catch-22 for laid-off employees is whether to return to work for less money than they are receiving while unemployed but risk being cut off entirely if they choose to remain jobless.The Catch-22 for employers is whether to identify those laid-off workers to the Louisiana Workforce Commission and potentially cost them their generous benefits at a time when many jobless workers need help to pay bills.Reporter Emily Woodruff shares weekly updates and insights on local health news, including COVID coverage and medical research. Sign up today.In a virtual town hall meeting Wednesday with The Times-Picayune | Advocate editor Peter Kovacs, and in a follow-up interview, U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, said dozens of employers have expressed concern to him about the conflict between the PPP and the generous unemployment benefits.Under the PPP, companies would have to pay back a portion of the loan if they don’t maintain their pre-coronavirus staffing level, with the amount depending on exactly how many employees they rehire.“If you’re offering a job and they’re not coming back, that’s compromising your entire loan forgiveness,” Graves said in an interview. “This is a big issue.”U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Benton, said he is hearing similar concerns from small business owners in his northwest Louisiana district.“It’s a very serious problem,” Johnson said in an interview. “The employers are in a real predicament if they can’t get all of their employees back.”Robert Wooley, an assistant secretary for the Louisiana Workforce Commission, said employers are supposed to file a form with his agency identifying jobless employees who decline to return to work.In normal times, the Workforce Commission is required to cut off their weekly benefits, Wooley said, while noting that several exceptions allow laid-off workers to continue to receive aid.The Workforce Commission will not cut off any benefits until after Edwards lifts the stay-at-home order currently in place through May 15 since so many companies have yet to return to business, Wooley said.He said the commission is drafting rules on how to handle this issue.Wooley noted that, under one exception, jobless workers who don’t return to work could remain eligible for benefits if they have to take care of children who are home from school.Whether jobless workers would lose their benefits “is not cut-and-dried,” Wooley said.Louis Reine, president of the Louisiana AFL-CIO, said laid-off employees shouldn’t be required to return unless their employer can provide a safe work environment.“We haven’t stopped the spread of the disease,” he said.Staff reporter Bryn Stole contributed to this article.© Copyright 2022 , 840 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA&nbsp;| &nbsp;|Powered by from .

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Laid-off employees and their employers are both facing a potential Catch-22 because of two separate provisions in the $2.2 trillion CARES Act passed by Congress to keep the -economy alive.The problem is that many small companies are now receiving federal dollars to rehire their laid-off employees under one provision of the CARES Act, yet low-wage workers may find that, thanks to a different provision, they are bringing in more money while jobless than they would by returning to workIf Louisiana employers report that...

Small businesses must rehire workers for federal aid, but what if workers don't come back?

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