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Hello everyone! I am a server in a restaurant that has been closed for over a month due to covid-19. They remained open for curbside pickup only and had the owner/manager and cook in the building fulfilling the take out orders. I have been collecting unemployment in the meantime.
The owner sent out a group message to me and other servers stating that they were going to schedule us next week and if we decline the hours, we will lose all unemployment, I asked if it would be one server at a time and he said that we would be fully staffed and he would think of "activities" for us to do. Not only does this not sound essential nor responsible, it also doesn't seem to be in my job description. There will be no customers allowed in the building and we have MORE servers scheduled for next week than we do when we are actually open and have customers coming in to serve.
My question is this: are employees protected if they are asked to return to work for a job that isn't truly essential? Even though restaurants are not being forced to close by Governor Baker and they are considered "essential", they are technically choosing to stay open for this service, it's not like a hospital where they literally have to operate. If I'm being asked to go in to a fully staffed environment for the sole purpose of proving that they are paying employees with the small business loan they received, is that something that I am obligated to do or else I lose my unemployment?
I do not feel comfortable under these circumstances and even though he is offering us a nice hourly wage to go in, my main priority is staying healthy and keeping my family healthy as well. I don't feel it's ethical for them to make us come into work or else deny us unemployment when the governor has not lifted the ban yet on bars and restaurants. I've worked here for a couple years now and I did not want to lose this job but I'm not sure it's worth putting myself at risk. I don't see how we can physically social distance with an entire staff on working together on various "activities" and I know them all pretty well and quite honestly don't trust that proper safety guidelines will be followed by them, considering I see how they've been conducting their lives during this pandemic via social media.
Thank you for any insight or advice you can offer.
Not sure how it works in Mass but normally if you're on unemployment and you are asked to work a few hours you can simply report the hours you worked that week and the UE Office will adjust your payment accordingly. It sounds like if you refuse to go in your boss is going to make a stink and say you "refused" work and honestly that is the kind of thing that can be very hard to unwind, you're gonna argue it's not within the scope of your job and he will argue it is, meanwhile it could all take weeks to resolve and leaving you without any benefits in the interim. I'm not sure what these "activities" entail but unless it's scrubbing the restroom floor with a toothbrush or something untoward the easiest route may be just to go along with it.
All that being said, I agree with you 100 percent on everything you said; it's just been my experience that these UE departments will use ANY excuse to disqualify you and it takes forever to clear it up and in the meantime they stop paying benefits under the assumption that the disqualification is legit.
Honestly, the guy sounds like a jerk. After it's all over find a new job and when they ask why you're leaving let them know this is the reason.
OH HELL NO- Server here-they prob will have you clean etc. Nope. If you refuse you will win, although it may pause payments for a couple of weeks while sorted out but I do not imagine anyone at UI would let this fly. I lost my job before covid bc I was getting "promoted" to more responsibility with less pay (to manager) when I refused I was let go-I won when I applied bc of the decrease in pay.
Get creative-ie. do you feel symptoms coming on?????????
Do you have kids or family members you have to care for?
Read the CARES act thoroughly and find your loophole.
After this-find a new job your boss sounds like a POS
If you NEED to go back one day a week will still allow you to collect partial benefits--but you will be working for free essentially-bc the income will be deducted from what you are currently receiving.
If you feel unsafe or have family issues, spend a $100.00 on an employee labor lawyer consultation. There is an 80% chance you will lose your unemployment and your job if you refuse to go in.
The problem is your employer is paying(partial) for your unemployment out of his state funds. Without the employer allowing you to qualify for unemployment, you can not qualify for the feds paying the extra $600.00 a week.
But you have to at least go into work next week and see what the conditions are. Get a feel for what he is trying to do. Then if you do not want to work, talk to a lawyer before you do anything. Be very very careful you have over $11,000($7,500. tax-free) in unemployment just through July 25 at stake and you would be burning that job forever.
If you go to the family leave program or feeling sick, that program does not pay the extra $600 a week. You would need a doctor to back you up and do the paperwork with the state.
If you get partial unemployment you will still get the 600 dollars
I read article today where a lady that owns a business in washington got the goverment loan and was excited to tell her employees she can now pay them. And they where really pissed off because now they wont beable to collect the unemployment.
OH HELL NO- Server here-they prob will have you clean etc. Nope. If you refuse you will win, although it may pause payments for a couple of weeks while sorted out but I do not imagine anyone at UI would let this fly. I lost my job before covid bc I was getting "promoted" to more responsibility with less pay (to manager) when I refused I was let go-I won when I applied bc of the decrease in pay.
Get creative-ie. do you feel symptoms coming on?????????
Do you have kids or family members you have to care for?
Read the CARES act thoroughly and find your loophole.
After this-find a new job your boss sounds like a POS
If you NEED to go back one day a week will still allow you to collect partial benefits--but you will be working for free essentially-bc the income will be deducted from what you are currently receiving.
So after more research, the PPP loan that my workplace now has requires them to REHIRE employees to "retain their jobs" (we can't even fulfill our jobs right now because the ban isn't lifted on bars/restaurants to operate fully so all that this is doing for us is making us put our health at risk and lose unemployment) so we are simply going in to help the business not go under and get the loan forgiven.
I am not sure what my options are right now. My boss put me on the spot and called me the day he first asked this and I didn't have time to think about it, learn about the situation or know my rights. He was definitely trying to sweet talk me into coming back and I do feel bad but my mom lives off an inhaler and I'm staying with my family right now so I am extremely anxious about all of this. (When I mentioned my concern for my family he completely minimized it and said, 'Well my wife has ____ and I still make deliveries to hospitals and nursing homes'....I wanted to tell him that I know he also still hangs out with employees and drinks with them with his kids around so I don't trust his health priorities right now)
He said he has to report weekly and if we decline the hours offered we lose unemployment completely. I think my only chance at any income for however many weeks/months this continues is to go in OR hope that he will somehow find a way to excuse me and still keep me on payroll, but he has been spiteful to me in the past (taking me off the schedule if he suddenly didn't like me), so I highly doubt he will play nice in this situation.
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