Restaurants Survey Results / Employment Payments Coming … Sometime
Restaurants Survey Results
A big question looming over counties’ reopening is how small businesses are going to operate. A new survey from a San Francisco restaurant trade group finds that they can’t survive by doing takeout and deliveries alone.
The Golden Gate Restaurant Association surveyed its members to find out what they need to stay open, in this time of covid.
And it turns out? The results weren’t great.
So far, restaurant owners have been getting by through a variety of adjustments. Some applied for federal loans. Some sacked their entire staff, and some got their landlords to defer their rent.
There’s been a lot of talk in the Bay Area about reopening restaurants with outdoor seating. But only about 40 percent of San Francisco restaurants have permits for this. Just over a third of them said that this arrangement wouldn’t work at all.
And most restaurants owners say they’ll need financial help to fund the extra equipment to operate safely.
One of the biggest problems though is that the majority of restaurant owners say that they can’t keep kitchen staff six feet away from each other.
The association recognizes their survey is limited. It only represents about 10 percent of restaurants in San Francisco.
Employment Payments Coming … Sometime
Californians applying for unemployment benefits have one less hurdle to jump. When you apply to the state Employment Development Department, you're automatically applying for federal coronavirus benefits too.
"Under federal law, there's an additional unemployment insurance benefit of $600 per week for anyone who receives even $1 of California state unemployment.”
That's employment law expert Jennifer Shaw with the Shaw Law Group in Sacramento. She says if you're already getting state benefits, but haven't received federal money yet, there may be a lag.
"What has happened is the EDD has to do a lot of work behind the scenes to make sure the processing is going the way it needs to go. Now, I realize that doesn't help when you need the money right now, but you're not losing the benefit, the payment will just come later."
Federal benefits are set to last through the end of July and state benefits for 26 weeks. However, lawmakers are looking at extending both of those end dates.
