As I write this post, I have been officially "laid off" my non-essential job due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Now, unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the Coronavirus is taking the world by storm (and obviously not in a good way). I am now one of the thousands to even millions in the U.S. concerned about and coping with the shutdown of life as we know it, including my job.
To be fair, I thoroughly agree with Governor Larry Hogan's decision to cease non-essential operations and to keep the public and others safe. My social distancing has been reallyyyyyy on point for the past few weeks. But I know that this virus in general is causing grief, concern, worry, stress, anger, and more for all of those affected.
As I am only day 1 into my "shutdown unemployment", I can't help but feel absolute worry for the health of the small businesses around me, for the people I love who are most at-risk, for the parents, children, employees and employers who have no idea what's next. And just when you think the federal government might finally come up with a COVID-19 aid package for the country, there ends up being a bump in the road. *(Update as of March 26th, it looks like the federal government has finally agreed to an aid package for those affected in the U.S. by the Coronavirus!)*
Fortunately, Maryland has been working on and creating aid plans to help small business owners & small business employees get through this tough time. I just hope that other states follow or are in the process of helping their communities. By communities I mean the now unemployed employees and nonoperational small businesses and business owners.
If you are a small business affected by this virus, contact your local government today for potential aid. If you are a small business owner who is still operating for the time being and has Human Resources related questions or concerns about COVID-19 related employee or staffing policies, pay, safe workplace operations, unemployment, etc., please reach out to us today.
We are all in this together, so instead of consulting the Internet, consult us so we can provide you with accurate answers to your COVID-19 business questions. Call 301-992-8725 or email thehrtrail@gmail.com today!
Stay safe and stay healthy everyone, we've got this!
