{"id":321,"date":"2020-03-18T20:46:45","date_gmt":"2020-03-19T04:46:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stephenshostek.com\/blog\/?p=321"},"modified":"2023-01-27T14:01:27","modified_gmt":"2023-01-27T22:01:27","slug":"responding-to-the-coronavirus-outbreak-march-18-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stephenshostek.com\/blog\/responding-to-the-coronavirus-outbreak-march-18-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Responding to the Coronavirus Outbreak \u2013 March 18, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I talked today with a few of my clients who have suddenly and unexpectedly lost their livelihoods.  My heart goes out to you.    Words seem so inadequate at a time like this.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things are changing fast in Oregon and in the US as the coronavirus spreads, and government, businesses and people react and adapt.   Last Sunday during a CNN interview New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said, \u201cIt’s changing every hour. So, we’re going to constantly make new decisions.\u201d    He was right about that rate of change.  And the need to make new decisions quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the initial wave of substantive changes unfolded in early March, I anticipated writing about wellbeing during change or crisis. Sharing information about stress reduction, resilience, and thriving.   But today I think I’ll share information about unemployment and economic assistance for small businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first layoffs happened quickly for Oregonians in the\nservice sectors of our economy.  As\nrestaurants, bars, music venues, theatres, meeting facilities, spas, and other\nservice-oriented businesses closed, it was inevitable that workers would be\nlaid off or furloughed.  The impact of\nthis is big.  Consider just the impact on\nrestaurants and bars:  The Oregon\nRestaurant and Lodging Association estimates that 211,200 persons were employed\nin restaurant and foodservice jobs in 2019 and accounted for 11% of employment\nin Oregon and $9.7 billion in annual sales in 2018.  Add to that impact other service businesses (entertainment,\ntheatres, spas, etc.) that have closed during the crisis, and the number of people\nimpacted is a significant percentage of Oregon\u2019s workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unemployed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A couple of local news sources have quickly published guides\nabout practical matters for the unemployed – filing for unemployment benefits,\nwhat agencies to direct questions to, and also a list of who\u2019s hiring in Oregon.   Turns out there are jobs out there waiting\nto be filled.  Check out: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

KGW:  https:\/\/www.kgw.com\/article\/money\/business\/oregon-unemployment-benefits-coronavirus\/283-4a76cc42-d6a2-4338-8c6a-549bfcf4565e<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oregonlive:  https:\/\/www.oregonlive.com\/business\/2020\/03\/oregon-coronavirus-layoffs-what-to-do-when-youve-lost-your-job.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Oregon Employment Department has an FAQ about what\nbenefits may be available to you during this time: https:\/\/www.oregon.gov\/employ\/Pages\/COVID-19.aspx<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

OHP<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Oregon Health Authority daily newsletter for March 20 advises that Oregonians whose monthly income has changed may be eligible for OHP assistance. You can find the March 20 update here – https:\/\/content.govdelivery.com\/accounts\/ORDHS\/bulletins\/282647c<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Image shared from OHA update, March 20, 2020<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Small\/Micro Business Owners<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re a small business owner in Oregon impacted by the coronavirus crisis, there may be some assistance available.   Here\u2019s an excerpt from a newsletter this week from Oregon House Representative and Chair of the House Health Care Committee, Rep. Andrea Salinas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Economic Impact and\nResources<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Governor’s office\nis working to advocate for federal assistance for our small businesses. In\norder to do so, they need to collect stories about the loss of revenue in\nour business community. Businesses with impacted revenue as a result of the\nCOVID-19 outbreak should fill out the ‘Estimated Disaster\nEconomic Injury Worksheet for Businesses’ <\/a>form and send to Leah\nHorner: Leah.Horner@oregon.gov<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business Oregon also has compiled a list of the resources\navailable to small business owners on their coronavirus response page, available here. <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bureau of Labor and\nIndustries also has a FAQ specific to COVID-19 on their website<\/a> to help\nboth employers and employees.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Work Share<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Work Share (STC-Short Time\nCompensation) is a state program that offers an alternative to laying off\nemployees. It allows a business to keep skilled employees during slow\ntimes by reducing work hours. Eligible staff whose hours and wages are reduced\nreceive a portion of their regular unemployment insurance benefits to\ncompensate for the lost wages. You can find out more information on\nthe Employment Department Work Share<\/a> website\nand here is a program infographic<\/a>.\n <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can read the full newsletter article from Rep.\nSalinas here:  https:\/\/content.govdelivery.com\/accounts\/ORLEG\/bulletins\/2818c10<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My heart goes out to those whose livelihoods have been impacted.   I\u2019m planning to share resources about dealing with loss, grief, and resilience in upcoming posts.   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I talked today with a few of my clients who have suddenly and unexpectedly lost their livelihoods.  My heart goes out to you.    Words seem so inadequate at a time like this.  Things are changing fast in Oregon and in the US as the coronavirus spreads, and government, businesses and people react and adapt.   […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,2],"tags":[12],"class_list":["post-321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-practical-tips","category-well-being","tag-coronavirus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephenshostek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephenshostek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephenshostek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephenshostek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephenshostek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/stephenshostek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":419,"href":"https:\/\/stephenshostek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321\/revisions\/419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephenshostek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephenshostek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephenshostek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}