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What to Do If You’re Laid Off Due to Coronavirus Closures
Published 6 mins ago • Updated 11 seconds ago
With the shutdown of restaurants, theaters, gyms and schools, due to coronavirus, many are facing or fearing lay offs. Below you will find some basic advice from officials, legal and budgeting experts on what to do if you believe you may be laid off or have already been laid off. This page will be updated with advice from the New York State Department of Labor as it becomes available.
For the latest COVID-19 numbers click here. For the latest on curfews and mandatory directives, click here. For the latest on the spread of coronavirus in the tri-state, click here.
BEFORE YOU ARE LAID OFF
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Save money. If you think you might be laid off, start saving as much money as you can right now, Grant Sabatier, author of "Financial Freedom" and creator of the Millennial Money brand says. "Having even a small amount of emergency savings will help you weather some of the uncertainty."
Check your handbooks or contracts to see if there is a severance policy. Christopher Davis, managing partner of The Law Office of Christopher Q. Davis, says many employers may have a severance plan in place that can include monetary assistance when employees are laid off, however "some employers may overlook that fact." Check your contract to
be aware of your rights.
If you are sick and feel layoffs may be looming, consider applying for disability coverage while you are still working. If you’re sick, have a diagnosis, are symptomatic and can’t come to work, or if you're suffering severe mental health consequences around coronavirus, employees should apply for disability coverage while they’re still employed, Davis says. There are some plans where if you’re terminated you no will longer get the same work compensation you would have while still employed.
Reduce your expenses. If your income might be at risk, you should cut back on expenses as much as possible. Sabatier suggests looking for a cheaper place to stay if your lease is almost up, or moving in with (coronavirus-free) friends or family. He says the average American spends over 70 percent of their income on housing, transportation, and food. "Cut back on all three as much as you can so you reduce the amount of money you need each money. One silver lining to the coronavirus is that because so many people are staying home it's harder to spend money."
Start looking for work that you can do online. With social distancing in place, job stability will be found in work that does not need to be done in person. You might be able to
get a job quickly proofreading or writing blog posts to make up some of your income gap, Sabatier says. New Yorkers on community pages have also suggested creative ways to make money online such as teaching English to students in international countries or online tutoring for SAT/ACT examinations for kids stuck at home.
IF YOU ARE LAID OFF
Don't be afraid to ask about healthcare continuation. Many employers will allow for healthcare continuation for a month or even more after work ends, especially for people with families. "Employees should not be afraid to affirmatively ask for that," Davis says.
Confirm with your employer in writing that they won't contest unemployment. Davis says employees should confirm that their employer believes that their unemployment application is eligible, and won't contest it.
IMMEDIATELY apply for unemployment. New York state has waived the 7-Day waiting period for
Unemployment Insurance benefits for people who are out of work due to COVID-19 closures or quarantines.
Click here to learn more about how to file a UI claim. Be aware the state is experiencing high demand on the website -- some NewYorkers have reported the site being slow or being down at times.
Look into accessing your Roth IRA. If you've already been laid off and you don't have any money but have a Roth IRA you
can take out your contributions you've made in prior years tax free, Sabatier says. If you have 401k you might be able to take a loan.
Take the opportunity to build new skills. If you're going to be out of work and stuck at home, think about ways to diversify your skills to protect yourself in the long term. "Skills are future currency, especially ones that you can use to make money online and not have to be as reliant on going to an in-person job or having a boss who can lay you off," Sabatier says. Look for free or low-cost online courses, or learn skills like video editing, basic accounting or coding via YouTube. More ideas
here.
FOR STRUGGLING BUSINESSES
Small businesses can apply for a grant to cover payroll. New York City is offering small businesses with fewer than five employees a grant to cover 40 percent of payroll costs for two months to help retain employees.
Click here to see if you're eligible and complete an interest form.
Apply for a zero interest loan of up to $75,000. Businesses with fewer than 100 employees who have seen sales decreases of 25 percent or more will be eligible for zero interest loans of up to $75,000 to help mitigate losses in profit, New York City says.
Click here to see if you're eligible and complete an interest form.
Try to mitigate impact on employees. Doing what you can to limit the effects of mass layoffs will be in the best financial interest of your business, Davis says. Former employees could have a negative impact on the business in the future even just reputationally. "Every employer has a moral imperative to be humane -- that means softening the blow of any transition in the instance of the pandemic."