COVID-19 / Coronavirus Employment FAQs

Employees who are usually eligible for unemployment can apply for CARES benefits. Many more workers are also able to recover, including independent contractors, freelance and gig workers, self-employed workers, part-time workers and workers with short employment histories.

The law provides for $600 per week in benefits in addition to any state unemployment benefits.

Federal benefits extend up to 13 weeks after state benefits end. If your state benefits have already ended before receiving federal benefits, you may still be eligible but may need to re-file.

Currently CARES Act benefits are slated to run no later than July 31, 2020.

People who accepted a job that has fallen through for reasons related to COVID-19 are eligible for federal unemployment benefits.

People who are unable to work for certain reasons related to COVID-19 such as caring for children whose schools or day care have closed, caring for family members who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, or presenting symptoms of the disease or being required to self-quarantine by medical professionals are also eligible.

Many states have expanded their unemployment benefits as well.  If you have recently been terminated or cannot work for reasons related to COVID-19, reach out to your state unemployment office by telephone or review their website.  States may also have relaxed requirements of continuing your job search.

Remember, many states allow people to receive some percentage of unemployment benefits if their hours have been reduced. But be careful, states may not allow any unemployment for people who are working the same number of hours at lower hourly rates.

The level of safety protections your employer should be taking depends on the level of risk you experience at your job. The risk level is determined by factors such as exposure to the public, the extent of physical barriers, availability of ventilation, the number and distancing of co-workers–as well as the risk factors for the larger building, if you are one business among many in an office building.

For specific guidance as to what your employer should be doing, see the CDC website and OSHA guidelines for ensuring workplace safety.

The laws are constantly changing, and current regulations may not provide specific provisions for employees injured or endangered by COVID-19 exposure. For this reason you should engage your employer in discussions about the CDC and OSHA guidance and what sorts of precautions are possible in your situation (including remote work). It is up to you whether you think it is necessary to disclose whether you are at high medical risk for COVID-19 complications.

You should document all conversations regarding safety precautions, what response if any you receive, and any steps your employer does take. If you feel you are not adequately protected, especially if you are in a high-risk group, it may be worthwhile to seriously consider taking unemployment to protect your health.

Companies can in most situations reduce workers’ pay. However, there are many rules they must follow when doing so. First, pay reductions may only apply going forward. Companies may not retroactively reduce pay.

Second, for non-exempt employees, hourly rates may not fall below the federal or state minimum wage, whichever is higher. Hourly rates are often, but not always, calculated as the total pay for a given pay period divided by the number of hours worked.

For exempt employees, companies may reduce salaries to the federal or state exempt threshold, whichever is higher. However, salaries may not be adjusted within a pay period based on the number of hours worked.

Many states offer additional protections. For example, some states permit employers to take only a specific handful of deductions from wages.

Companies are permitted to reduce employee schedules, as long as such reductions are not taken on a discriminatory basis that depend on race, religion, national origin, disability, age, or other protected classifications.

Companies must continue to pay non-exempt workers for all hours worked. Employers can terminate employees who work unapproved hours but must pay for all hours.

Most workers may be required as a condition of employment to work overtime.  Non-exempt workers must be paid at one and a half (1.5) times their regular hourly rate for all hours worked over 40 per week.  Overtime is calculated on a weekly basis, and employers cannot subtract hours from one week and apply them to another week to avoid paying overtime.

For employees working under a collective bargaining agreement (union), on prevailing wage/public construction projects, and In some states such as California, overtime pay may be required for hours worked over 8 hours per day.

In general, companies can classify any worker as non-exempt and pay overtime. However, it is much more common for companies to attempt to classify workers as exempt to avoid paying overtime.

Some of the most common exemption categories include managers and high-level administrators, highly educated professionals and teachers, high-level technology and computer workers, and certain sales employees, particularly who mainly make outside sales.

If you belong in one of these categories and are paid salary above the federal and any state threshold, you might be correctly classified as exempt. However, many employers have been sued for giving employees inflated titles to avoid paying overtime.