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The Gathering Storm: COVID Rages While Worker Relief Laws Sunset: Way back in March, when I read the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), I thought they were great. Increased unemployment benefits through the end of July, unemployment benefits for up to 37 weeks, unemployment benefits for gig workers, two weeks of paid leave in case you or a loved one gets sick, and up 12 weeks of paid emergency family medical leave if you are unable to work because your child’s school or child care becomes unavailable. Americas workers were being looked after when we need it most.

The laws weren’t perfect. They had loopholes that allowed  large and well-capitalized businesses to grab Paycheck Protection Program loans  intended for small businesses. But as imperfect as they are, no one thought we would be facing the same emergency in November as we faced in March. No one anticipated we’d have 8 months of lockdown, remote learning, masking, social distancing, and a quarter of a million dead Americans.

Yet here we are. New York City just announced that it is closing its public schools and returning to all-remote learning. My hometown’s public school system did not open at all this fall. (But we did get the  John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant. Comme ci, comme ça.)

What does this mean for American workers? It’s not good.

The worker protections in the FFCRA and the CARES Act end on December 31, 2020. Happy New Year! Congress is in recess until after Thanksgiving and no one expects them to become serious about coronavirus relief when they return. Even if Congress did, no one expects the President to focus it.

Our best-case scenario is a stopgap agreement to extend the laws for a few weeks for the new Congress to and new administration to take office. But a stopgap won’t be enough for many Americans.

Remember that generous two weeks of paid sick leave if we develop coronavirus symptoms? Common cold symptoms caused many of us to use days “ and rightly so “ but slow test results had us burn through more sick days than necessary waiting for the negative results that allowed us to return to work. I’ve had two coronavirus scares in the last 8 months, both negative. If I couldn’t work from home, I would have used up my emergency paid sick leave and then some.

Remember those 12 weeks of paid Emergency Family Medical Leave? If your children are especially attentive and diligent teenagers, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Everyone else, chances are good you’ve already used a lot of that time caring for your younger children and playing teacher for your older children. My youngest is 16. Brilliant, but not especially attentive. I was reminded daily why I dropped my secondary ed major, and why it was the right decision.

Next, the unemployed. The good news is that the jobs numbers have been better than many expected. We hit a high of 14.7% unemployment in April, falling to 6.9% in October. This is a wonderful improvement, but it is so much higher than the 3.6% unemployment of January. The bad news is that the enhanced unemployment benefits of $600 per week ended on July 31, 2020, and the extended benefits for 37 weeks to gig workers and regular employees alike ends December 31, 2020.

Finally, the grim reality. The  Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation  at the University of Washington projects that we will reach 320,000 deaths from COVID-19 by year end.

Wear your bleeping mask. And call your mother. She hasn’t seen you in months. Happy Friday!

The Gathering Storm: COVID Rages While Worker Relief Laws Sunset- If you would like more information about this article, please contact our employment attorneys in Connecticut and New York at Carey & Associates, P.C. (203) 255-4150.

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